The Balance
by Vnud
Summary: Years ago, Quinn lost her soulmate to Darkness. However, the human soul is everlasting, so the soul of her lost love will come back to her but in a new body.This person will cause The Balance to be tipped.But will it be for Light or Darkness? FABERRY AU
1. Chapter 1 Prologue

The Balance - Prologue

**Disclaimer: **I own every idea of this story, but I DON'T own the characters.

**Author's Note: **Ok, so this little idea has been bouncing around in my head for a while. And while I do have an ongoing story (A Twisted Fate), I couldn't stop thinking of this and just had to write the prologue. It's difficult to tell anything about the rest of this story without giving much away, but I will say this. This story/universe will be split into two stories. The first is completely planned out, but not written yet. The second, has not been planned. But there will be a sequel.

Another thing...this is HIGHLY AU. This has nothing to do with glee. Also, it's very supernatural/fantasy. But there is romance. I REALLY hope you guys like this idea as much as I do and respond good. Otherwise, if I don't get any reviews I will be totally bummed. So! Enjoy :D

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><p>"Noooooo!" an angry voice screamed out as the owner burst through the heavy double doors of the antechamber.<p>

The figure stepped further into the room; red-rimmed hazel eyes scanned the room. "Where IS SHE?" the pain laced voice cried desperately. Drops of blood were starting to sting the hazel eyes, so the female tore off a piece of her battered green tunic to wipe most of the blood away. However, blood continued to flow from the deep gash over the woman's right eye.

In the far corner of the large room, a slender tan skinned brunette stepped away from the shadows. "Quinn!" the voice shouted, concerned as she ran to Quinn's side. "What happened? I thought you were visiting Sonya?"

At the mention of Sonya, Quinn's eyes darted up to look at her friend in fury. "It was those fucking Beasts! We were attacked," she snarled before pulling away from her friend and starting to pace.

The tanned woman's eyes raked over the other woman's form. The normally light blonde hair was strained with ink black blood. The silver chrome breast plate was also splattered with black and red blood. There was an open wound over the woman's right eye, running from her temple to her cheekbone. Her normally flawless green tunic, under her armor, was tattered and stained black. Creamy white skin was checkered with nasty scratches and bruises. The silver sword hilt peeking over the woman's shoulder was stained red. The only feature that seemed unharmed on the blonde's body was her large magnificent black wings protruding from her back. Those of which were being unfurled restlessly as Quinn paced.

Quinn's mind was in overload over what just happened. She couldn't even bare to think of Sonya. _No, no, no, she's fine. She's still alive._ Quinn glared at her friend, "we were outside the castle, out on the clearing past the fields, to have a noon meal together. Santana….I didn't even sense them coming" Quinn finished softly. She looked down at her hands, remembering the pure red blood that had covered them only hours before.

Santana frowned, "You didn't? What happened to Sonya?"

Quinn's dazed hazel eyes met deep brown, "Sonya…" she whispered softly, "…there were too many…I couldn't stop them all…she…she.." Quinn couldn't even finish the sentence. Her throat clamped shut, blood rushed into her brain, and her palms began to sweat. _I needed more. More power. More strength. I could have saved her._

Santana sighed deeply and closed her eyes, only imagining the pain her friend must be dealing with. To lose a soulmate is a pain not even death could erase. _Humans are so fragile_. "I am sorry my friend. Of all the benefits we have compared to the humans, none matter when we are at the mercy of their mortality," Santana said softly. Quinn muttered a soft response, but the brunette couldn't hear, "...What is it Quinn?"

"She can come back…she can. They can bring her back to me." Quinn chocked out, more of a question than a statement.

"Quinn, you know just as much as I do that they can't interfere with the natural order of things. I know how much you cared for her, but they can't bring her back," Santana replied carefully trying to gauge the woman's reaction.

The blonde's demeanor changed instantly and angry hazel eyes speared her, "You know nothing of what I am going through! You've never met your soulmate," she spat.

Santana flinched at the blonde's words, but tried to not take it too personally. _Her words are stemming from anger_. "I know that…" came the whisper of a reply, "…but that changes nothing. The Balance must be maintained. If Sonya were to come back, she could tip the balance and destroy everything as we know it."

Quinn started to pace again, "The Balance? You think I care about the Balance? What has this immortal life given me? I had my mate, but she slipped right through my grasp. Why even bother to continue existing? Why Santana…I loved her…" Quinn's voice cracked and she collapsed to the marble floor; her wings sprayed out looking like a fallen angel.

Santana's heart broke at the sight. She carefully knelt down beside the brokend blonde and pulled her into a warm embrace. "You will live. Do you understand? You will live." Santana ducked her head to stare into hazel eyes, "you need to live. To fight. Becaue you know it's not the end. I may not have found my soulmate, but even I know that Sonya will come back eventually." Quinn looked up at her friend in confusion, "If you were thinking properly, you would have remembered that a human's soul is everlasting. Our lives may be immortal, but their souls are immortal as well. That means that Sonya's soul will be put back in the Cycle, and she will be reborn." Santana finished softly.

"But it still hurts. It hurt so much. Why…why did she have to leave me so soon?" Quinn asked quietly.

"I don't know…but you must fight to find her again." Santana whispered fiercely.

"…I loved her. I loved her…I love her" Quinn whisper before breaking down completely as sobs wreaked havoc on her frail body. Santana nodded silently and held the woman close as her own pair of wings enclosed the two in a healing cocoon.

Neither woman saw, nor sensed, the pair of silver eyes watching the scene un-fold from the shadows. A hint of sadness flashed across the eyes before the cloaked figure disappeared. _It is sealed then._

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><p><strong>Reviews please :) Let me know what you think! Seriously...<strong>


	2. Chapter 2

**Authors Note:** Thank you to everyone who reviewed :) I'm totally only writing it for you guys! I finished this chapter earlier today and just got around to typing it up onto a doc. Once again, PLEASE REVIEW and I'll love you forever. XD Please enjoy!

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><p>Chapter 1<p>

_600 Years Later…_

Quinn cracked her neck trying to get the kinks out. Wincing, the blonde reached up and rubbed the back of her neck. Then, she twisted her stiff back and stretched out her massive wings to their full extension. _It's been days and still nothing in either realm _Quinn thought with a groan. She glanced back down at the round table in front of her. It had a miniature scale model of a world, with animated features. _Nothing in the human world. Let's see about our world_, Quinn thought as she lifted her hand and passed it over the table causing the scenery to shimmer and change. After a moment or two of scanning, Quinn sighed and yawned. She grimaced when she felt the old scar over her right eye pull slightly. Though it had healed completely, the scar remained as a reminder for the blonde. She stepped away from the table when someone knocked on the door.

"Come in," Quinn's voice rang loudly.

Santana sauntered into the room and stepped in front of the blonde. The brunette placed her fist over her heart in a salute, "Commander."

Quinn quirked her eyebrow, "So, my second does know how to salute. What a pity no one is here to bear witness," she stated dryly with a small grin.

"Of course I know HOW to. I just choose not to," Santana grinned, "…but I am on official business. The High Council has requested your presence."

Quinn snorted and stretched, "This will be interesting. Does that mean I need to be in full regalia?"

Santana shrugged, "Most likely."

"Very well, I'll meet you in ten minutes. Oh…and don't forget to put your armor on. As my second I need you there."

"Oh joy…" came the dry response before the Latina disappeared.

Dull hazel eyes rolled at her friends antics and headed toward her own room. She undressed herself and pulled on her official golden tunic, and pulled on a thick brown belt. Next, she lifted her silver breast plate off the armor rack and lifted it over her head. After securing the straps on the side of the bodice, she picked up her curved silver hilted sword off the rack and slid it over her shoulder into the built in sheath of the armor. Next, she put on her shin guards and bracers; both of which were platinum silver. The blonde ran her fingers through her hair and looked at herself in the mirror. Her eyes looked over her pitch black wings looking for stray feathers. Nodding to herself, she strapped on boots and left her room to meet up with Santana.

Quinn nodded in approval at the woman's appearance. She looked similar to the blonde, with the exception of the red tunic.

Santana whistled at Quinn and winked, "Commander, very hot."

Quinn shook her head and didn't even reply. She pushed her way into the meeting room. The room looked much like a human chapel, with benches intended for the, not present, audience but at the front were six individuals seated at a wooded semi-circular table.

Quinn and Santana walked down the center aisle and stopped at the front. Quinn stepped forward and raised her fist over her heart and bowed her head in respect.

"High Council," Quinn stated letting her voice pitch and echo throughout the chamber.

The High Council member directly in the middle stood up and addressed the kneeling woman. "Commander, rise we have much to discuss," The Speaker's deep voice said before seating himself again.

Quinn relaxed and sat herself, with Santana next to her, at a table centered in front of the council members. Once seated, the Speaker of the council addressed Quinn.

"Commander, I'm assuming that you've been in the Scrying room searching for any disturbances from the Void? Have you found anything?" the Speaker asked as his brown eyes scanned Quinn. The Speaker looked young, but that's only an illusion because the people on the High Council are some of the oldest of their kind.

"Yes sir, I have. For the past week, besides minor incidents, the Void have not initiated any confrontations. Quite frankly sir, it bothers me. In my entire existence I've never seen them so quiet." Quinn stated firmly.

"That's what we have been worried about as well. They have never been this docile. Recently we received word that something massive was assembling itself. As a result, we sent for a seer. Apparently, in the human realm a child was born. She, according to the Seer, holds a power of the likes that have never been seen before. This is why we've summoned you here."

"With all due respect sir, I'm not following…" Quinn said lowly.

"Some of us have expressed concern about assigning you to this duty," the Speaker glanced to his left at other members, "…but you have never let us down. Even over the past several hundred years. That is why we need you to go to the human realm and find this woman. By now she must have reached maturity. Find her and protect her at all costs. If the Void were to get their hands on her, the Balance will be tipped and not in our favor. Do you understand Commander?"

Quinn nodded stoically, "Am I to reveal myself to her or be watchful from afar?"

The Speaker looked to his left and right, silently conversing with the others. With a final nod, he turned back toward Quinn. "It is up to your discretion. Whatever happens, do not let her taken. That is the most important part. Now, unfortunately you cannot walk around the human world with your wings exposed. Also, you cannot wear your armor at all times. When we send you there, there will be a secure house near where the girl is. Human clothes will be waiting and a bottle of pills will be there as well. These pills will allow you to hide your wings into your back. I hear it's quite an unpleasant feeling, but surely you'll have no problem."

Quinn grimaced and ruffled her wings nervously, "It will be done. When do I leave?"

"Immediately," the Speaker replied.

Santana frowned and stood up, "Sir? With all due respect…may I accompany my commander? If this woman is to be protected wouldn't two of us be a better idea?" Santana stated, hoping that they fell for her reasoning.

The Speaker eyed the brunette for a moment in silence before speaking, "that is a very good idea. Very well then, you may help protect the girl as well. I believe that is all, you both are dismissed," The Speaker finished as he began to stand up.

Quinn quickly stood up, "A moment, your Graces," all members stopped and looked at the Commander, "…what is this woman's name?"

The Speaker looked down at Quinn and stated simply, "Her name is Rachel Berry."

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><p><strong>Reviews are totally awesome. Just saying :P I just wanna know what you guys are thinking! If you have any suggestionsconcerns or you just wanna talk/say Hello, PM me or review. I'm always up for some chill conversation :)**


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

**Alright so I'm happy about the response I've gotten for this story! This update is by far the largest chapter I've ever posted to date, so I really hope you appreciate and enjoy my hard work :D**

**Most of the questions I got from you guys will be answered within the next chapter and some of you brought up some questions I will NEED to answer. Since no questions were answered this chapter I will give you this: Quinn and Santana are NOT angels. I repeat...they are NOT angels. That's all you get :p**

**Please review :) Let me know what you think about this! Enjoy!**

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><p>It was past sunset by the time Quinn and Santana entered the human world. The tear in the fabric of reality landed them directly in front of the safe house secured for them. The house looked completely…normal, if not a bit aged. Quinn looked around her and noticed that there wasn't another house within a mile of the safe house. In fact, there wasn't much of anything but plain overgrown fields, and trees surrounding the house. Nodding in approval Quinn turned to Santana.<p>

"Let's head inside," she said lowly.

Santana nodded, "Yeah, but couldn't this place be a little better than a shit hole?"

"Most likely, but the key is to be inconspicuous. A nicer house would bring too much attention," Quinn said softly as she pushed open the door. She winced when the hinges creaked. _This really is a shit hole_ she thought with a mental groan. Quinn wasn't particularly happy with the house but she would never let Santana know that.

The house itself looked to have been built in the early Twentieth Century. Directly in front of the entryway was a wooden stair case that led up to the second floor. To the right of the staircase, a hallway led into the bare kitchen. To the right of the front door, a door led to the den and located on the left side of the front door, was the living room and dining room behind that.

Quinn frowned at the dust that rose up in swirls at their arrival. She stood still for a moment and let her mental shields down enough to allow her to scan the house for any unwanted guests.

The blonde opened her eyes, "It's all clear. Head down into the basement and get the electricity up and running. I'm going to go find our clothes and those pills." Santana nodded mutely and headed into the kitchen to find the door down to the basement.

After the brunette left, Quinn let out a deep breath she had been holding in and nodded to herself. Squeezing her wings as tightly to her body as she possibly could so she could fit through the doorways; she headed up the stairs and into the master bedroom. The large room had an antique looking fireplace, a large canopy bed and an oak dresser. In front of the fireplace sat a few comfortable looking chairs and a rectangular coffee table. Quinn walked further into the room and noticed a stack of clothes on the bed. The two sets of clothes each consisted of two pairs of jeans, undergarments, and plain black t-shirts. As predicted, next to the clothes was a bottle of tiny white pills.

Just then the electricity powered up allowing the entire house to be brightened. Hazel eyes squinted trying to get used to the new light. Quinn grabbed the sets of clothes and the small container and proceeded to head downstairs to meet her second. She found her in the living room trying to sit down on the couch, but her wings made it nearly impossible to find a comfortable position.

"Here," Quinn tossed the bottle at the Latina, "I found them upstairs along with these," she motioned towards the bundle in her hands. "I suppose we should take the pills before changing into these clothes."

"Should we take off the armor first? We have no idea what's going to happen, and with the metal on our back…" Santana trailed off.

"You're right. Ok let's take all this stuff off and I forgot to ask you to check the plumbing but did you happen to check the water here?" Quinn asked as she started to unbuckle her breast plate.

Santana nodded, "Yeah and I'm so totally ahead of you. There's two cups of water right behind you," she pointed to the dining room table. Quinn strode over, deposited the clothes, and picked up the two cups while the tan woman pulled her own armor off.

Once out of her breast plate, Santana grabbed the bottle and took out two pills. Taking a cup from Quinn's hands and handing the blonde her own pill, Santana stared down at her palm at her own tiny white pill. She was a bit hesitant.

"I don't know about this Quinn. I've never been without my wings…" the brunette said nervously.

"Neither have I, but we have to do this. Besides, I don't think they'll be entirely gone. The Speaker said that this is only to hide them." Quinn stated hoping to keep her own nervousness out of her voice. Truthfully, she didn't feel any more comfortable with this than Santana. But on the Brightside….she would be able to fit through the doorways._ Here goes nothing_ Quinn thought as she took a gulp of water and placed the pill on her tongue. Throwing her head back, she swallowed and stood stock still. Hazel eyes met brown with bated breath.

It took a minute for the two women to feel anything. At first, it was an annoying tingle at the base of their spines. Quinn gasped and dug her fingers into the arm of the couch as heat traveled up her spine, to the base of her wings, and to the farthest point on her wingspan. It wasn't until Quinn had gotten used to the heat that the pain started. It felt like something was physically constricting her wings and forcing them into her back. Blinding white hot pain was pulsating from her back to every part of her body. A particular pulse that reached the base of her skull sent Quinn to her hands and knees screaming from the pain. Involuntary tears streaked down her face. She wasn't sure if the next scream was hers or Santana's but she didn't care at the moment. Quinn felt her body's tell-tale sign that she was about to pass out creeping up her neck but before she succumbed to the blissful oblivion, the pulses stopped.

Quinn opened her eyes and noticed that she somehow ended up sprawled all over the floor and she wasn't alone. Santana had fallen off the couch and was face first in the carpet. The blonde laid there trying to calm her rapidly beating heart, and then started taking into account all of her body parts. After making sure everything vital was in working order, she wiped off the beads of sweat off her forehead and slowly sat up.

"Unpleasant my ass. That hurt like a bitch…" Santana gasped out lifting her head to look at her Commander, "…am I dead?"

Quinn chuckled, "Afraid not," she replied then stood up and offered the brunette her hand. The tan woman groaned and took the offered hand.

Once standing, Quinn's eyes bugged out. Sure she expected there to be a difference in their wings now…but this was bizarre. Santana noticed the scrutiny and looked down at her body, self-consciously.

"What? Is something on me?"

The blonde shook her head, "Your wings…" she whispered softy.

Santana's eyes got comically wide, "Holy shit, they fell off didn't they?" she screeched before looking over her shoulder trying to see her own wings. Which she failed at horribly.

"No, no. They're still there….they're just kinda well…small"

Santana frowned, "Somehow, I feel inadequate now. Come on," she turned around and pulled off her tunic so the blonde had a good view, "…tell me what you see."

Quinn stepped closer and cocked her head to the side slightly, "Well, they're packed really tightly against your back," she ran her fingers lightly over the black feathers, "and they don't move. Can you try and move them?" After a moment nothing happened.

"I..I can't move them. That stuff will wear off right?" Santana asked over her shoulder.

"I can't imagine why it wouldn't," Quinn paused to try and move her own wings, but to no avail, "They wouldn't send us here with a handicap. You look actually human now though."

"I really hope this crap wears off. Now where are my clothes?" Santana asked as she looked around to see where Quinn had put them.

"On the table," Quinn said as she pulled off her own tunic. It felt odd not feeling the weight of her wings as she moved. Quinn felt extremely light and moved fast than she expected. She followed Santana to the table and pulled on the provided shirt. Next, she slipped her long legs into the jeans.

"Hey, these things are really comfortable…no wonder humans like them so much." Santana said as she ran her hands over her jean clad thighs.

Quinn merely grunted, "Yeah, until one of the Void shows up and rips you to pieces. There's hardly any protection with these. Come on, grab your armor and take the room next to mine." Quinn replied as she led the brunette to her room, which was almost identical to hers. She left the tan woman to drop her tunic and armor set off. She had just set her burdens on the bed when she sensed a disruption in the natural energy field.

Quinn closed her eyes, slowed her heart rate, and let her mental shield drop completely. In her mind's eye, she could _see_ the natural energy field. Every living organism expelled small doses of energy, from the tiniest ant to the large animals. Humans' aura was simple to sense. It was one of the brightest and strongest energy signatures of this world. Quinn saw the light blue energy readings of all of the natural beings surrounding her, with the exception of Santana and herself who released a blinding white essence. However, what caught the blonde's attention were empty holes in the continuous energy field. The holes were empty of any type of energy signature, but only gained its energy from the living organisms surrounding it. Quinn knew from experience what that meant. The Void had torn a nasty gash into the fabric of reality and entered the human realm. From what Quinn could tell, there were at least three beasts and they were moving with purpose. Without a doubt they had found Quinn's charge. _Shit._

Quinn opened her eyes and quickly grabbed her sword. She grabbed the hilt and set a surge of her pure energy into the sword that caused the metal blade to literally melt into the hilt. Satisfied, Quinn pushed it into her back pocket and quickly left her room to get Santana. When she found her, the brunette had just put her sword hilt into her pocket. Santana turned and met dull hazel eyes and stated the obvious.

"They're here."

Quinn nodded affirmatively, "Yes, and I think they've found Rachel. We need to hurry if we're to get there before they attack.

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"Seriously Rachel, there's no way I'm going to let you walk home alone. Especially if this is your first time." A tall blonde said to the shorter woman.

Rachel rolled her chocolate brown eyes, "Brittany, I'll be just fine. Nothing happens in Lima, and besides I'll take a short cut home." She said. For at least the hundredth time that day Rachel Berry cursed the fact that her car had chosen this specific day to break down on her. Now here she was, outside the hospital, standing by her broken down car, arguing with her best friend.

Brittany raised a thin eyebrow, "And I hope you're not talking about cutting through Oak Ride Park…"

Rachel shifted her weight to a different leg, "..Umm…ok I wasn't…"

"Oh my god, ok that settles it. I'll walk you home, but we are NOT going through that park," The tall blonde stated finally.

"Oh come on Britt, if we don't cut through there it will take an extra fifteen minutes. This is just ridiculous. I'm sure we can go through there and be just fine…pretty please?" Rachel pleaded with her round eyes.

Brittany sighed and hung her head down in defeat, "Fine, you win Dr. Berry. Take off your coat and scrubs and put them in my bag," she said while sliding off her backpack and letting Rachel stuff her things in there.

"Let's go short stuff," Brittany said as she started walking across the large parking lot.

"Hey…I'll have you know that I'm just the right size," Rachel pouted and jogged a bit to catch up with her taller friend.

"Uh huh…" Brittany hummed as she slowed down her stride for her friend.

"I'll let that slide for now Dr. Peirce," Rachel narrowed her eyes playfully at the blonde. Rachel had met Brittany in high school, but their friendship didn't hit off until they took their residency at Lima General. If you had asked them when they were younger if they had plans to come back to their childhood home when they got older, they would have laughed in your face. But…yet here they were; back in Lima.

Brittany rolled her eyes and said in a fake southern belle accent, "Well bless my heart…thank you Dr. Berry. What would I have eva' done without you?"

"Hardy Har-har. Hey, I was wondering if you'd like to come over for dinner on Friday?" Rachel asked.

"Yeah, I think I can do that. I'm not on call in pediatrics that night. What about you? You on call?"

Rachel shook her head, causing her bangs to fall into her eyes. She would need a hair-cut soon. "No, not any more this week. I was on call for 48 hours a couple days ago. I'm going to make some lasagna."

"I so can't wait!" Brittany said excitedly with a grin.

Rachel huffed taking a deep breath, "Britt…I still can't believe you walk home every night. How the hell do you do this?"

Brittany laughed, "Cardio baby!" and she flexed her arms playfully causing the women to laugh.

By this time, the women had just crossed the threshold of Oak Ridge Park. The park was seldom sued by people during the day and at night, no one dared to cross it. Not that it was dangerous, but because it made the hair son the back of your neck stand at attention. Brittany stopped and grabbed a flashlight out of her bag since the lights in the park were far in between. She clicked on the light and led Rachel into the overgrown park. After ten minutes of walking, Rachel began to notice the shadows seemed….darker.

"This place is kinda creepy…maybe you were right about skipping out on this…" Rachel said as her eyes struggled to see in the dark. She stepped closer to her friend.

Brittany looked down and was going to tease the woman, but she noticed that Rachel was genuinely afraid, "Most likely, but we'll be fine. We've almost reached the end."

Rachel's eyes darted around, half-heartedly listening to the words coming out of her friends mouth. A crinkling of dry leaves caused her to stop dead in her tracks.

"Did you hear that?" Rachel whispered fiercely, as her eyes strained against the darkness. It wasn't until now that she noticed the silence. She couldn't hear crickets, birds; not a thing.

"…Brittany…I don't think we should be here…" the shorter woman said with a shiver.

Brittany swallowed and tried to steady her hand that was gripping the flashlight in a vice-like grip, but failed completely.

Rachel heard another crackling noise accompanied by a low pitched sound…almost like a moan. She wrapped her hand around Brittany's trembling ones and pointed the flashlight toward where she thought the sound originated from. The beam of light illuminated nothing but pitch black darkness, but something seemed…off. The hairs on the back of both women's neck jerked to attention in alarm. In a blink of an eye, the darkness was gone to be replaced by an old tree.

"Britt! Don't move the light…I think there's something out here…" Rachel chastised the blonde.

"Rachel…I didn't move the light…" came the quivering voice, "I thought you did."

Rachel frowned, "No, you had to have moved it since I didn't do it."

"Honestly, I didn't. We need to get out of here…I really don't think we're alone anymore…" Brittany said as she started to tug on Rachel's arm in the direction they just came from.

Both women froze in fear when they heard a crackling and pop from behind them. The blonde quickly pointed the beam behind them. Once again, the light failed to illuminate anything but darkness. However, as both women watched with bated breath, the "darkness" seemed to move slowly, revealing the path they just recently walked. Cold dread filled Brittany and Rachel.

Rachel tried to get her throat to start working but it was proving to be difficult. The more she swallowed, the more her throat clenched in fear.

"Britt…" Rachel managed a low whisper, "…we are definitely not alone. I don't think it's…what…what are we going to do?"

Brittany shook her head, causing the curls to fling everywhere, "I d...d…don't know. I don't know."

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Even at a fast pace, Quinn knew they would be cutting it close. If only they could have used their wings, but neither of them could figure out how to reverse the effect. That left them with only one option; run.

They approached the area from the South and had just leaped over the nine foot fence enclosing the park when they were mentally assaulted with the full aura of the Void's creatures. Quinn skidded to a stop and motioned for Santana to halt as well. With this much power radiating from the creatures they must be within a hundred feet of them.

Quinn kneeled and whispered to her second in command, "They don't know we are here yet. They must be focused entirely on their targets; which is good for us. Keep your shields up until the very last second. Without our armor and wings, we are at a disadvantage and we need all the help we can get. You see that rise ahead of us?" at the other woman's nod, she continued, "they must be just over there. Keep to the shadows and follow me."

Santana nodded silently and followed Quinn up to the top of the small hill in front of them. Both women made sure not to make a noise. Just below them two humans were being surrounded and corralled by three lower level Void demons. The creatures themselves lacked a solid shape; they continued to fluidly shift from shape to shape. Quinn and Santana's enhanced vision could clearly see what was occurring below.

Quinn narrowed her eyes down at the scene unfolding. She couldn't tell which of the humans her charge was. But just then she heard the smaller one call the tall blonde one Britt. _So, that petite woman is Rachel Berry, _Quinn thought as she raked her eyes over the scared form of the small woman. From this angle and distance, the only feature she could see was the color of her hair. Hazel eyes jerked back to the creatures when she felt the energy of the beasts' spike. Just then, one of the creatures appeared behind the women and stood there openly before slowly moving out of sight. The blonde's eyes widened, _they want the humans to know they're there and are feeding off their fear._ Quinn reached into her back pocket and pulled out her sword hilt in preparation. She met Santana's eyes and nodded slightly. The dark woman steadied herself and retrieved her sword as well. Back down below, the creatures mutated their forms to develop appendages with deadly looking claws and mandibles appeared on their heads. The creatures let out an ear splitting scream and prepared to pounce on their prey.

Quinn jumped to her feet, followed by Santana, and dropped her shield down completely. Just to make sure she had the beast's attention, she sent a psychic pulse of her energy at the monsters. The creatures below paused and screamed in rage looking up in their direction. Gripping her sword, she let another pulse flow through the hilt that caused the metal to reform with a bright shimmer.

"Now!" Quinn yelled before leaping off the rise and running at full speed toward the monsters with her pulsating glowing sword raised high.

Rachel thought for sure she was going to die the first time she heard that gruesome roar from whatever was stalking them. Her life even flashed before her eyes. She saw her childhood, family moments with her fathers, high school, prom, graduation, college, med school, everything up until this exact moment within a millisecond. With a death grip on Brittany's arm, she accepted her fate. But nothing happened. She opened her eyes as if she could actually see what was happening. Another roar rocked her to the core but she could tell it wasn't directed toward her and Brittany. Her eyebrows furrowed and she noticed a flash of white light speeding towards her before clashing with something massive.

Another light appeared just behind the first one and hit what Rachel could guess to be, a black wall. Rachel thought she heard a feminine voice scream 'run' but she didn't have time to ponder that when a black…creature appeared in front of them with a roar. The…thing was large and muscled, with arms and legs and a head that had pincher-like mandibles dripping with putrid saliva. Rachel couldn't tell if she could see eyes, but her fight or flight response kicked in and she pulled Brittany up with her to haul ass away from whatever that thing was.

Quinn's sword clashed with the creature closest to her. Warm sticky black liquid squirted out across her chest. The demon screamed and swiped a massive claw at Quinn, but the blonde danced out of the way. She spared a glance at Santana who was fighting her own monster, but she only saw one. That meant that the third was after the humans. Quinn's eyes widened in panic and she quickly dodged another claw and drove her sword to the hilt deep into the creature's chest when it left itself wide open. Without a second thought she lifted her head to the humans. The last demon was gaining distance on the two women.

"Runnnnnn!" Quinn screamed loudly before being knocked the earth. The demon she had just skewered managed to swipe a clawed arm across her chest while she was distracted as it died. Pain seared across Quinn's chest and she looked down seeing blood start to ooze out of the scratches. With a groan she stumbled to her feet and retrieved her sword from the dead figure. Once the sword was removed, the creature discombobulated into black liquid.

With one hand clutched to her chest to ebb the flow of blood and the other clenching her bright sword, Quinn paused for a heartbeat to think. _There's no possible way I can make it to them in time in this condition. Not by running. Shit. No…No I will not fail. Not again. I won't let them die!_ Quinn thought angrily as her once dull eyes flashed for the first time in ages with emotion.

The blonde centered herself. She pushed away the throbbing pain of her chest. She pushed away the fatigue and exhaustion eating away at her and dug deep within her reserves. With a loud scream, Quinn released a power filled pulse from deep within her soul. The powerful energy ripped through her body overwhelming the drug induced restraint on her wings.

"Come on, run faster Rachel!" Brittany panted out trying to elongate her stride to go faster. The brunette was lagging behind her slightly. They had just made it to one of the few light poles in the park when she heard a thump. She looked behind her and noticed that Rachel had tripped and the animal that was after them was on all fours stalking the fallen woman. Brittany skidded to a stop and ran back to her friend just as the creature got a hold of the brunette's leg. With as scream, Brittany swung the flashlight and hit the creature over what she assumed was its head. The animal looked up at her unscathed and roared. With a swipe of its claws the blonde was sent flying several feet, landing with a loud thud. Brittany gasped and struggled to move but pain speared through her body making her immobile. Blue-green eyes looked on hopelessly at the sprawled form of her friend.

Quinn's eyes narrowed at the scene below her. She angled her wings and dropped down on top of the creature, slamming her sword into the creature's torso. The demon screamed in pain and buckled flipping the blonde off its back. It reached an arm behind it and knocked the sword out of it's back. Quinn stood up quickly and ran to pick up her fallen sword, the creature hot on her trail. Her fingers brushed against the hilt and she twirled around faster than a human eye could see. Using her massive wings she effectively pushed the demon back and with a high pitched whine, swung her sword at the momentarily stunned creature. With a clean swipe, Quinn decapitated the lesser demon.

Rachel couldn't get her mind wrapped around what she was seeing. For the second time in the last ten minutes she was almost eaten. And then, here she was, lying on the ground, helpless when this…woman literally fell from the sky with a glowing sword. On top of that, this woman has wings! _Beautiful black wings_ Rachel thought absent mindedly.

Quinn looked down in disgust at the pile of black bile that used to be the demon. She wiped her sword on the back of her jeans, on her calves. Next, she lifted her hazel eyes to the figure sprawled out in the dirt. She took a step forward and winced as the gashes across her chest made themselves known once again. Ignoring the pain the best she could, Quinn walked over to the brunette and kneeled beside her. Wide chocolate eyes stared back at her.

"Are you alright?" Quinn's husky voice asked as she set down her sword as to not scare the woman more than necessary.

Rachel nodded speechless as her eyes racked over the blonde's long hair, her flawless skin, the scar across her face, the red blood seeping across the black shirt, and of course….the powerful black wings that restricted the brunette's vision to only the blonde.

Quinn cocked her head to the side at the woman's glazed eyes, "My name's Quinn and I mean you no harm. I'm here to protect you, do you understand?"

Rachel cleared her throat, "Yes, I do. What…what happened…what..who…are you?" her soft voice asked.

"We will discuss that later, but I need you to come with me. Will you agree to come with me?" Quinn asked softly.

"I..think so. I'm sorry, just having some difficulty here with the…the wings and all. Are they real?" Rachel stuttered.

Quinn chuckled, the woman was kind of cute, "sorry about that," she hugged her wings closer to her body, "..and yes they are. Come on, let me help you. We need to leave before more of these things show up," She offered the prone girl her hand.

When their palms touched, Quinn almost dropped the poor girl from shock. Without her permission, a pulse flowed from deep within her and into the other girl causing a static charge.

"Sorry," Quinn muttered quickly as she pulled the brunette to her feet.

"It's alright, I hate static electricity." Rachel said completely oblivious. Her eyes searched out Brittany. "Britt!" she screamed, "…Quinn we need to help my friend."

Quinn looked over Rachel's shoulder and noticed the other blonde laying on the ground. She could sense that the blonde was still alive, "She is still alive, don't worry. I'll have my second look after her, but I need you to come with me."

Rachel looked back at Quinn puzzled, "Your what?"

Just then another figure materialized, with a swoosh of wings, from the darkness. Santana dropped down and fluttered her wings for a moment to balance herself, before letting her wings settle restlessly.

The last coherent thought that crossed Rachel's mind was _there's two_, before her eyes rolled up to the back of her head and she succumbed to a blissful sleep. She didn't even feel two strong arms catch her before she collapsed.

* * *

><p><strong>Silly Rachel...but I don't know. I'd prolly pass out too if I almost died. More than once lol<strong>

**Reviews are soooooooo welcomed you have no idea. :D stay tuned!**


	4. Chapter 4

**So, it's been a while huh? I'm sorry, I hit a major writers block half way through this. But I've finally pushed through it and I hope you like what I've got. It's pretty long and I hope you take that as a peace offering :P For those of you who stuck with me, thank you :) 3**

**Anyways, Here's the next installment! Enjoy!**

* * *

><p>"What did I do?" Santana asked dumbfounded.<p>

Quinn shook her head, "nothing, there was just too much shock in her system. Her brain is trying to protect her," she shifted the unconscious woman comfortably in her arms, "I'm going to take her back to the house, but I need you to get her friend over there."

Santana looked to where Quinn pointed, "Alright, I've got her. Is that Rachel?"

"No, this is. But her friend needs aid and she's seen far too much. You'll be fine?" Quinn asked.

"Yeah, I'll be right behind you"

Quinn nodded, "Alright," she paused for a second, "how did you manage to free your wings? Did it finally wear off?"

Santana snorted, "Hell no, the energy burst you sent out broke my binds as well. It was incredible," she finished in awe.

Quinn stared at her for a second, "Interesting…" she muttered before looking up at the sky. She bent her knees, letting power generate in her torso, and jumped straight up as her powerful wings simultaneously pushed off the ground. This sent the blonde flying into the night sky like a bullet.

Once her Commander left, Santana turned her attention to the other blonde. She slowly walked over to the woman and was startled to be met with blue eyes. _She was awake the entire time_ Santana thought with a frown.

"Hello there, can you understand me?" Santana asked as she kneeled down beside the woman.

Brittany stared at this new stranger with wide eyes. She had seen the other woman speak to Rachel and her friend seemed to be ok. At least until she passed out. But this one…intrigued her. The other woman seemed closed off and had an air of authority but this one was different. As Brittany looked into the tan woman's dark enigmatic eyes, she felt as if she could see into the woman's soul and what she found there called to her. When she was asked once again by the woman, she nodded quickly.

Santana smiled to ease the woman, "Great, my name is Santana and I need to carry you away from here. Are you okay with that?" at the girl's nod, she continued, "Fantastic, now can you move at all?" Santana had noticed that the woman hadn't moved an inch since she approached.

Brittany tried to lift her leg but gasped when pain shot up her body like lightning. Santana's wings fluttered when she heard the pain filled gasp and at how pale the woman's face turned.

"Ok, don't do that again. I'm going to need to put my hands on you, but I promise I won't hurt you. I'm just going to see if I can find the problem ok?" Santana asked looking into frightened blue eyes.

At the other woman's nod, Santana placed her left palm on Brittany's stomach, and the other on her forehead. She took a deep calming breath and closed her eyes. The energy flow in the woman's body seemed to be flowing correctly. Santana took a closer look and noticed energy being siphoned to the woman's lower spine. When the woman had fallen, the impact with the ground caused one of her spinal discs to bulge out of place. That would explain the pain. Without her consent, energy bubbled from a deep pool at her very core and fired out of her fingertips and into the blonde. Momentarily shocked, Santana sensed her essence mixing with the blondes and attacking the woman's injury. The mixed energy signatures forced the tall blonde's disc back in alignment with the others.

Brown eyes widened and Santana quickly dropped her hands form the woman's body. The Latina had never ever felt something like that, nor had she lost the ability to control her own mana.

As soon as the strange woman let go of her, Brittany immediately began to feel a cooling sensation chase away the residual pain. She blinked and relaxed her posture as she tried to move her leg once again. Fortunately, the leg actually moved without any pain. Brittany signed in relief and coughed trying to clear her dry throat. The sound knocked Santana out of the trance like state she was in.

Santana leaned back and wiped her palms on her jeans, in hopes of ridding them of the tingling sensation they were now experiencing. "You…umm…you had managed to pop one of your spinal discs out when you fell. I was able to help you basically pop it back into place. I'm guessing you feel better now right?" Santana asked nervously.

Brittany swallowed and lifted herself up onto her elbows, "yes, I don't….I mean thank you for helping me." She stuttered softly.

Santana nodded, "Good, now that you're fit to travel we really need to leave. Are you ready?" She stood up to her full height and offered a hesitant hand down to Brittany.

"You're going to take me where Rachel is right?" Santana simply nodded, "Then, yeah I'm ready." She took the offered hand.

Santana couldn't stop her eyes from raking over the taller blonde's body. _Gorgeous_. Santana took a half step back and shook her head slightly. "Ok, I need you to wrap your arms around my neck and I'll hold onto your waist. I won't let you go, I promise." Santana hoped the other woman could trust her enough. The blonde just stared at Santana silently. Santana started to get nervous and couldn't stop her wings from fluttering anxiously. Whatever the blonde was looking for, she found because she smiled and stepped into the Latina's person apace. Santana thought she felt her heart stop.

"I trust you," Brittany smiled and wrapped her arms around Santana's neck. She pressed her body flush against the tan woman and whispered softly, "and my name is Brittany."

Santana had to mentally slap herself remember she had a job to do. "I…it's a pleasure to meet you Brittany. If only it were better circumstances right?" Santana chuckled and wrapped her strong arms around the blonde's waist. Brittany merely giggled in response.

"Ok, now hold on tightly but don't choke me alright? I do need air," Santana finished teasingly and bent her knees slightly before letting her large wings lift them up off the earth and into the night sky. Brittany squealed at the sensation and buried her face in Santana's neck.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Quinn stared at the sleeping brunette. She was leaning forward, her right leg crossed over the left, her right elbow resting on her right knee and resting her chin on her open palm. When Quinn had arrived back at the house, she had taken the unconscious woman into the master bedroom and set her down on the bed. Since then, she'd pulled up a chair, and after making a minor adjustment, sat down comfortably and took up said position.

_How can so much power exist in such a small human?_ Quinn thought once again. The brunette didn't seem extraordinary and Quinn just couldn't see how this simple woman could cause such uproar. She uncrossed her legs and ran her fingers through her hair with a loud sigh. She stood up, grabbed one of the extra pillows off the bed and threw it down on the floor in front of the fireplace. Quinn lifted her eyes to star up at the ceiling when she sensed Santana arriving. _Took you long enough_, she relaxed slightly and knelt down by her pillow. She wrapped herself up with her wings, effectively cocooning herself, and laid down to rest before the inevitable discussion.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

The first thing Rachel noticed before opening her eyes was the stale air. She involuntarily scrunched up her nose. _I thought I had an air freshener going in my room. That's the last time I buy a cheap brand. Screw Walmart._ Rachel's eyes shot open with a startle when her memory from last night rushed back into the forefront of her mind. She remembered those creatures and the woman with the wings…Quinn. She looked down at herself and noticed she was still in the clothes from yesterday. Rachel looked around the room and couldn't help but notice how old everything seemed. By the light streaming in through the only window, the brunette could see the fireplace at the end of the room. Near it sat several chairs and a small table, but what caught the girl's attention was the chair next to the bed. The backrest of the hair had been ripped apart leaving only the seat. The broken pieces of wood lay where they had been carelessly thrown.

Rachel sat up and yawned. She stretched and hear a satisfying pop from her back. With a sigh, she lifted her legs over the side and stood up. It was then that she noticed the figure laying on the floor in front of the fireplace. _Quinn_ Rachel thought silently. Finally given the chance, the brunette let herself analyze the sleeping woman. The woman's entire midsection, torso and part of her legs where covered by the elegant black wings. Rachel had to physically stop herself from walking over and running her hands over the powerful appendages. From what Rachel could see, the woman wore plain blue jeans and leather boots, but she had never seen that style before. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed the sunlight reflecting off bright metal. Brown eyes squinted. She couldn't make out what it was, but she feared moving in case she woke Quinn. Plus, it was just plain rude to snoop around someone else's room.

However, the air in the room was suffocating Rachel, so she took a risk and walked over to the window to slide it open and allow a fresh breeze in. Rachel flinched at the screeching sound the window made as she pulled it up. Immediately, she felt the air in the room stir and she quickly turned around feeling like she got caught with her hand in the cookie jar. Before her stood Quinn in an alert stance, with her wings spread out, but Rachel could still see the slight groggyiness in the woman's hazel eyes.

"is everything alright?" the sleep filled voice asked huskily.

Rachel found it difficult to meet the woman's gaze without becoming tongue-tied. Quinn cleared her throat impatiently.

"Umm…yeah. I'm sorry I woke you. It's just really stuffy in here and kind of hot. Is it just me?"

Quinn frowned and looked around the room as if she expected to see the heat, "I don't feel anything but it takes a lot to make me feel uncomfortable. Why don't you freshen up and I'll go see about getting the air going? There's a restroom just outside in the hallway." Quinn finished with a yawn before stretching her lean body.

As much as Rachel willed herself to stop staring, she just couldn't. But in order to save herself some embarrassment, she quickly responded with a mumbled "yeah".

Quinn nodded and turned to leave the room with the intent to find the air conditioning unit. However, she would need to make a quick stop to talk to Santana and the blonde knew her second wouldn't like the news.

Rachel had to stifle a giggle when the blonde woman had trouble fitting through the doorway. A few minutes after the blonde left Rachel wandered her way into the bathroom. The coolness of the room was like a balm on her skin. Beneath the sink, she found a new toothbrush and a box of toothpaste. Thankfully, her hair wasn't too messed up so all she had to do was run her hands through it. Rachel was running her fingers through her bangs, when she thought she heard a woman scream from a distance. She cocked her head, but didn't hear the sound again. Convinced that the sound was just a figment of her imagination, Rachel washed her face and smiled at herself in the mirror. _For someone who almost died, you look pretty good_, the only physical sign the brunette had from the previous night was sore muscles.

She stepped outside the restroom and could hear muffled voices originating from down the stairs. It took Rachel a couple tries, but shefinally found Quinn and Britt in the living room. Her friend was curled up on the couch, her knees up to her chest and was nursing a drink. Quinn was snapping off the back of one of the dining room table chairs so she could sit comfortably. _I guess that explains the wood everywhere._ Blue eyes brightened upon seeing Rachel in the doorway.

"Rachel!" Brittany squealed before enveloping the shorter girl tightly in her arms, Quinn merely looked on in amusement.

Rachel silenced the protest on her lips and hugged the blonde tightly. Tears threatened to pour down her face when Rachel thought of how close she had come to losing her best friend. She sniffled and Brittany pulled back.

"Are you alright Rach?" Brittany asked concerned. The brunette seemed happy just a moment ago.

Rachel wiped away a stray tear and smiled, "yeah, happy tears don't worry. Wanna tell me when you got so brave?"

Brittany smiled bashfully before ducking her head. "Around the time I thought I was going to lose you." Rachel's heat warmed at the words. Rachel just shook her head with a smile and hugged the blonde again. Brittany lifted her head and smiled, "I'm just happy Quinn and Santana showed up."

Rachel stepped away from her friend and locked eyes with Quinn. What Brittany said was right. Without Quinn they would have died and she should be thankful. It doesn't matter what she is. "Brittany's right, thank you for saving us"

"It was my duty," Quinn said solemnly.

Finally being able to look past Quinn's wings, Rachel noticed the dark blood stains on the woman. Rachel frowned, "Hey, are you ok? I didn't know you were hurt. We should probably get those cleaned up and bandaged. I think Brittany has some supplies in her bag," she rambled.

Quinn had to blink her eyes so her mind could catch up. She looked down at her chest briefly, "these are fine. They've already healed up. I just need to wash the shirt."

"Quinn, I can clearly see from the amount of blood on your shirt that these wounds are deep. There's no way for them to have healed overnight," Dr. Berry insisted.

A thin blonde eyebrow rose, "I'm telling you the truth. I'm fine," she paused at the blank look she was receiving._ Stubborn human_. Quinn reached down and pulled her shirt over her chest to show the stubborn woman.

Working on instinct, Rachel averted her eyes from the newly exposed skin. But quickly, Rachel's professionalism kicked into play and dark eyes skillfully examined the wounds. Sure enough, the scratches were red and puffy, but the skin had healed completely over the once open wounds. Rachel was confused because this level of recovery shouldn't happen until weeks after the incident.

Seeing the confused look on Rachel's face, and Brittany's actually, Quinn spoke up. "As you can see I heal pretty fast. Faster than any human at least….because I'm not human."

Rachel blinked; and blinked again letting the information sink in. She had known the first time her eyes landed on the blonde, but it never actually sunk in. There's no way a human could have wings. Maybe through experimentation but even then it would be difficult physiologically for human DNA to accept such a large mutation.

"Wait, so then what are you? And can I just start off by asking the obvious…are you angels?" Brittany asked, breaking the silence.

Quinn snorted, "No, I'm sorry to say that we aren't. However, I don't doubt that the term 'Angel' was meant to refer to one of my kind".

Rachel squinted her eyes and looked up at Quinn confused, "So, if you're not human and you're not an angel…then what exactly are you?"

Quinn sighed, "I'll explain everything. However, let's wait for my second in command," the blonde cocked her head to the side, "…who's just arrived."

Three sets of eyes turned to the front door as they heard it slam open and shut. With a curse, the tan woman walked into the living room only to be startled by three sets of eyes on her.

"Oh no, what now?" Santana asked with a concerned look.

Quinn chuckled, "Nothing's wrong. I was just about to enlighten our company about us, but I was waiting for you."

Santana glanced between the three women finally picking up on the anxious atmosphere that filled the room. "Why thank you Commander," she replied dryly.

"Did you get what I told you to grab?" Quinn asked with a raised eyebrow. She looked towards the woman's empty hands.

"Oh yeah!" the woman disappeared behind the wall for a moment before returning with two large plastic bags in her hands, "Ladies, breakfast is served!" Santana said loudly with an easy smile.

Brittany smiled and jumped up from the couch to relieve Santana of her burdens, "What did you get?"

Santana couldn't stop the silly grin from gracing her face, "Well…I didn't really what either of you liked. So I just grabbed a little of everything. The closest place was a gas station, so don't expect too much."

"I'm sure it will be fine," warm blue eyes met dark brown, causing the Latina to blush.

Rachel's interest was piqued from watching her best friend interact with this stranger. The woman had straight black hair, tan skin, and dark eyes. However, the one thing she noticed was missing was the wings and she was pretty sure this was the same woman from last night.

"I see you're getting along with Brittany well," Quinn gave Santana an unreadable look. After a brief pause, she continued, "This is Rachel Berry" she pointed to the short brunette.

Rachel jerked her head in surprise. She didn't remember telling Quinn her last name. Actually she never remembered giving the blonde her name at all.

Santana turned to look at Rachel and offered her hand, "Hello, I'm Santana."

Rachel's manners bubbled to the surface. She'd hate to embarrass her fathers. She took the offered hand firmly and shook, "A pleasure to meet you Santana."

The Latina was impressed with the woman's manners. She'd noticed good manners were rare these days. "Pleasure's all mine. It's good to see you're ok. Last night you took one look at me and passed out!"

Rachel laughed and blushed, "Yeah, sorry about that. It was…ya know...all the almost dying and stuff. And wings."

Santana chuckled and rubbed the back of her neck, "Yeah, that would do it."

Rachel shifted in her seat, "If you don't mind me asking…but where exactly are your wings?"

Santana rolled her eyes and shifted her shoulder blades uncomfortably, "Well, I can't just _fly_ to the gas station. People might notice ya know? So there's this little pill of torture that we can take that shrinks the wings and makes us look human. Hurts like a mother fucker though…"

"I thought I heard a scream earlier…" Rachel muttered absentmindedly.

Quinn had spent the last few minutes eyeing her second and watching Brittany watch Santana. _Very interesting_. At the silence she spoke up, "Why don't you guys eat and we'll explain?"

Brittany frowned, "You guys aren't hungry? I'm starving," she grabbed one of the bags and started pulling out some cold sandwiches.

Santana picked up the other bag and handed it to Rachel, while she explained. "We are, but we don't need to eat as much as you guys do. A little goes a long way with us. It really comes in handy when you're fighting and have no way of getting food."

Rachel found a ham and cheese sandwich and grinned triumphantly. She didn't realize how hungry she was until she had the food in her hand. Quickly taking the plastic off, she took a quick bite while mulling over what Santana had said.

Quinn took a deep breath and settled her gaze on the two humans on the couch, "I'm not sure where to start. We aren't human, we aren't angels, and we aren't aliens. We come from a different world. Almost like, say, a different reality or you could say dimension."

Rachel just kept chewing because she figured if she stopped her head might implode from the information overload she was getting.

"So, are we talking Twilight Zone type of thing here?" Brittany asked seriously. The blonde had always believed in supernatural stuff, so she was taking this pretty calmly.

"Well, not so Hollywood. But I suppose so. However, this isn't a fictional television show. Our race has been around longer than humans have existed on this Earth. Our most important duty is to keep the Balance" Quinn stated as she reached for a bag of salt and vinegar chips.

"What's the Balance?" Rachel asked after a moment of silence settled over the group.

Santana spoke up, "The Balance is quite simple to understand. Have you ever wondered how the idea of dark versus light, good versus evil came to be? That is what we do. We insure that there's a healthy balance between Light and Darkness."

"So, you make sure there are not too many bad people in the world?" Brittany asked while munching on a potato chip.

"You're thinking too small here. I hate to break it to you, but everything in existence does not revolve around human society. What we deal with are _real_ entities. There's an actual force out there, the Darkness, that's sole purpose is to take life from the living and cause pain. It feeds off pain," Quinn paused shaking away old memories, "It wants people to suffer and it gains strength from it. Those creatures that attacked you guys in the park? Those were created from the Darkness. They were lesser demons, called Lurkers. They blend into the shadows and feed off fear." Quinn nodded to her second to take the reins while she ate another chip.

"As stated, we come from another reality that co-exists with this one. We have the power to jump from this world to ours at will. Besides the wings, we look human but we are far different. We are stronger, faster, and smarter, we can heal ourselves and we have…for a lack of a better term…powers. We are able to detect the essence that makes up every living organism in the universe. This is what helps us detect the creatures of darkness. They have no essence. And we long life spans." Santana said as the two women across from her listened quietly.

Rachel raised her eyebrow, "How long are we talking here? How old are you both?"

"I've lost count, but I'm pretty sure I'm around 700 years old. Look pretty good don't I?" Santana joked. Rachel's eyes bugged out and she could only blink.

Quinn cleared her throat, "I'm uhh….over 800 years old. You tend to forget after so long."

Brittany gasped, "Holy shit. So you guys are like…immortal?"

Santana shrugged, "Basically, but we can die. It just doesn't happen very often. We are very well trained and good at what we do. We are warriors and our years of experience keep us alive and kicking."

"That…..just…I don't even know…" Brittany blinked and looked at the tanned woman, "You're not kidding right?"

"I'm completely serious," Santana replied lowly.

Rachel frowned; something still bugged her about this. "Granted, I am having a bit of a problem wrapping my head around this. I understand the alternate universe, and the wings, and the super powers or whatever. What I'm still confused about is why these things attacked us?"

Quinn lifted her chin, preparing herself, "That, was because of you Rachel."

"Wait, what? And now that I remember….how do you know my name?" Rachel frowned.

"Calm down…" Quinn stated lightly.

"No, don't tell me to fucking calm down ok? I almost died twice in the last 24 hours, I'm being told there are alternate universes and you have fucking _wings_ for Christ's sake! Don't tell me to calm down. Now explain how this is all _my_ fault!" Rachel yelled hysterically. Brittany winced and placed her hand on her friend's thigh.

"I will explain, if you'd give me the chance," hazel eyes flashed dangerously. Santana watched Quinn out of the corner of her eye. Usually it takes a lot to get her long-time companion riled up.

Rachel merely fumed silently, waiting.

"As I was saying, this all is because of you Rachel. I was sent here, by my superiors, to make sure that you were kept safe. There's something inside of you Rachel, something that's powerful that could destroy the Balance between Light and Dark."

The silence in the room was deafening.

Rachel blinked, and then rolled her eyes with a laugh. "Ok, you got me. At least be more creative you know?"

Quinn frowned, "I'm not lying…"

"Quinn, I am a doctor at Lima General. I was raised by two gay dads in a small minded community. I can tell you, there is _nothing_ special with me. I lead a completely ordinary and simple life. At least up until last night," Rachel replied sarcastically.

"Rachel, Quinn isn't lying. We cannot lie about this. This, protecting you and fighting, is what we've done for hundreds of years. Yes, you may think you're average. But that's only because you don't know how to tap into the power you wield." Santana said firmly as she leaned forward closer to the short brunette.

Rachel shook her head, "Look, thank you for saving me and Brittany last night. But we will be needing to go to work, and back to our lives. I hope the whole fighting evil thing works out for you both," and she stood up.

Quinn quickly sat up, her wings spreading out to show dominance, "I can't let you do that…"

Rachel raised her eyebrow, "Excuse me?"

Quinn steeled her resolve, "I can't let you leave this house. Any second you're away from my guard is dangerous. I'm sorry but you may not return to your life…"

Rachel's jaw dropped, "You're fucking kidding right? What are you going to do? Keep me here for the rest of my life?"

Quinn shifted her weight, "I don't know. But you will need to stay with us for as long as you're in danger. And right now, you're in extreme danger. You have no idea what you're up against!" Quinn had finally reached her boiling point with this stubborn woman.

Rachel took a deep calming breath and looked Quinn dead in the eye, "You have _no_ right to do this. This war that you have…is not MY war. I have nothing to do with this and I certainly did not ask for this shit!"

"This is all about you right now! You ARE in the fucking middle of this so this is YOUR war now! Now, stop acting like a fucking child and calm the fuck down. I will not speak to you when all you want to do is whine. I'm sorry you can't go back to your old life. I'm fucking SORRY I'm risking my own life trying to keep you alive. I'm sorry I _value_ your life more than you fucking do. I don't care what you do, but you cannot leave this house. And that's it!" Hazel eyes blazed furiously. Quinn's breathing, by now, had become heavy.

Rachel had never felt so angry in her life before. She saw red and the only thing she could do was stare at this woman whose eyes were glowing with emotion. Rachel clenched her jaw and silently stormed out of the room and stomped up the stairs back into the master bedroom.

Once the petite brunette was gone, Quinn sucked in a shaky breathe trying to calm herself down. She hadn't been that angry in several hundred years. Something about this woman pushed all of her buttons in just the right way.

"Well, that went well…" Santana stated dryly.

Brittany cleared her throat, and looked up at her two saviors "I'm sorry for her behavior…but you have to understand our side here. We didn't ask for this, but now we're stuck. I think…we both need some time to think about what this all means. She will calm down eventually…I think I'm going to go talk to her." The blonde stood up and walked up the stairs without a further word.

Santana sighed and rested her hand on her friends shoulder, "This a huge pile of shit we have here Commander…"

Quinn shook her head slightly and shook her wings out restlessly, "Understatement Santana…understatement."

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><p><strong>Please, if you could take a moment and review...I'd love you forever. I'd like to know what your thoughts are and what you think.<strong>

**Review please :)**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hey guys! This new chapter isn't as long as the others, sorry about that, but I wanted to get it out to you guys. I hope you like this chapter, a little more insight into the characters and their dynamic.**

**Enjoy! :D**

**Side note: I have a tumblr! I've become sucked into that world and I regret nothing. Here it is ****if you're curious: vnud29 (dot)tumblr (dot) com**

**I'm there constantly (like right now). Without the dots though ok?**

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><p>Rachel slammed into the bedroom and narrowed eyes glanced around. She couldn't believe that she was a prisoner here for God knows how long. Seeing the broken pieces of the chair next to the bed made her angry. Seeing the shiny armor near the open window made her angry. Somehow, even though the room was meager, everything made her think of a certain blonde. And that made her furious.<p>

"Fuck her…" Rachel yelled out before collapsing on the bed. Hot, angry tears streamed down her face. The silence hanging in the room seemed to taunt her. Laughing, mocking at how helpless the tiny woman was. Rachel quickly wiped away the tears when she heard a soft knocking on the door.

Rachel cleared her throat, "Who is it?"

"Rach, it's me…" Brittany replied against the cold wood. A soft 'come in' drifted to the doctor's ears. Slowly, she pushed open the door and closed it gently behind her. Seeing her dejected friend sitting on the edge of the bed killed her. _Oh Rachel._

Red puffy eyes slowly lifted to meet the concerned gaze of her best friend. She tried to smile, but quickly she felt a sob claw its way up her throat. She clenched her throat shut, fighting the urge. Her gaze dropped back to the hardwood floor as to not let her friend see just how distraught she really was. The bed dipped next to her and a comforting arm pulled her against a warm familiar body.

Brittany sighed and rested her cheek against the top of Rachel's head while the smaller woman composed herself. After a few minutes of silence and muffled sniffles, Brittany spoke up. "How are you doing?"

Rachel swallowed and looked up at Brittany, "I just…I don't know why this is happening to me…to us. I just want to go back, back to the way things were…"

"I know, I know you do. I want to too, but we can't," Brittany shrugged her shoulders slightly.

"Why are you taking this so well? Aren't you at least upset?" Rachel searched the blonde's face frantically.

Brittany shrugged, "I don't know. I mean…I've always believed in this kinda stuff so it's not much of a surprise ya know? Plus, I'm not leaving much behind…you are my family."

"Oh Britt…." Rachel chastised herself for being so inconsiderate. She wrapped her arms around the woman's waist.

"It's ok," Brittany smiled bravely, "that's the past. Don't get me wrong, I want to go back to work…..that's my passion. I want to help people and I want my simple life back. I want that lasagna you promised me!" she giggled and grinned internally at the smile on her friends face, "However, I can't do any of that if we're dead."

The silence was suffocating. Both women were being slapped in face with their own mortality and it was frightening.

Rachel looked down guiltily, "It's not really you. They're only after me…"

"Don't even say it, Rachel. There's no way in hell I'd leave you alone to deal with this. You're all I have left, and I will hold onto you with two hands." Brittany butted her head against Rachel's affectionately. "We are stuck in this together, get used to it. We are alive and that's all I want. I mean we have some pretty kickass bodyguards and we'll figure out a way to get through this…you know?"

Rachel nodded, although she wasn't as sure as Brittany, "I get it, I know I should be grateful that we're alive. I just detest feeling like….I have no control over my life. Just yesterday I had a sense of what I was going to do…what I was going to have for dinner…what I was going to do about my shitty ass car…Oh dear god my car! It's going to get towed…" Rachel paused….and then started laughing.

Brittany quirked her eyebrow, _what da hell…._Rachel's boisterous laugh was infectious though. Brittany snorted unattractively and giggled along with her friend. She didn't even know what she was laughing at anymore.

Rachel's chest wheezed as her laughter shook her tiny frame. She looked at Brittany and another round of giggles took over her body. She slapped her thighs hoping that would help her stop laughing but it didn't. She fell back on the bed and looked up into the canopy with a large grin on her face. Slowly both girls' laughter died down. Rachel turned her head and looked at Brittany.

"You're my family too," she stated simply with an easy smile. She bumped her shoulder against the tall blondes affectionately.

"I know," Britt replied with a large smile; blue eyes twinkling with mirth.

Rachel turned her head back and looked up to the ceiling. What would she do now? Her life was spiraling out of control and the only anchor she had was the woman next to her. In this moment, she wished she had listened to Brittany and had taken the long way home instead.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Quinn needed space. She need time to center herself and meditate. The argument with Rachel unsettled the blonde much more than she had led her second to believe. She stepped outside to feel the warmth of the sun on her face, to let her wings spread out and flex, to feel freed from the suffocating atmosphere in the house. The sun was out, beating down on the pitch black wings but Quinn loved the feeling of the sun; pure energy hitting her body, warming it up.

With a jump, Quinn projected herself straight into the air and allowed herself a moment to savor the beauty around her. She dropped her mental shield and just took in how much life there was in this realm. How bountiful and beautiful life could be and how sad many couldn't even appreciate it. She flew up and settled herself on the roof of the safe house. She pulled up her shields again and tried to empty her mind. She let go of the residual anger that was left from the silly argument. She banished the memories that were lurking in the back of her mind that she refused to have resurfaced. Once her mind was completely empty, she took a deep breathe; then another. Once more, she dropped her shield and sent out pulses of her own energy to connect to natural field. Once her mana tapped into the field, she was able to feel an incredible surge of energy flow through her being as if she were a conductor. The feeling was one that words could not describe. In this state, she was part small part of something vast. She felt like she belonged.

Absentmindedly, Quinn registered the front door of the house opening and shutting below her. A swoosh of wings, and a soft thud landed next to her on the roof.

Santana breathed in deeply and exhaled slowly. The sun warmed the features of her face and she flapped her wings feeling the breeze caress her fine feathers. She looked over to her long-time friend and hated to interrupt her meditation but she had something she needed to discuss with her. It had been bothering her since the night before.

"Quinn?" her soft words drifted over to the blonde's ears.

Quinn pulled herself out of the field and sent her mental shield up. Hazel eyes languidly opened to meet Santana's; she merely raised a questioning eyebrow.

Santana's eyes looked forward and looked toward the tree line far across the property. "Last night….when I was checking up on Brittany after you left with Rachel something happened. The girl, Brittany, had an injury in her spine and I had to use my energy to sense where her pain was coming from," her eyes turned back to an intent hazel gaze, "needless to say, I was able to find out where the problem lay. But then…something weird happened. I was trying to figure out a way to help the girl, when I lost control of my mana."

Confusion clouded Quinn's eyes, "What do you mean you lost control?"

"I don't know. I just….I was sensing her….and then out of nowhere some of my energy zapped its way into her body. It was….incredible," Santana's eyes lit up, "I could actually _see_ both of our energies mixing and becoming one. That's what healed her spinal disc. Has that ever happened to you?"

Quinn broke eye contact with her friend and closed her eyes. In her mind's eye she remembered things from long ago. "That….yes…that has happened to me. One time, long ago"

Santana hesitated before speaking. She could feel the unease rolling off Quinn in heavy waves, "Tell me about it?"

Dull hazel eyes met deep brown, "A long time ago, I came across a woman who had broken her leg when her horse had been spooked and threw her off. For some odd reason, she was out at night and the pain that clouded her vision allowed me to help her without her seeing my wings. Like you said, our energies mixed and mended the bone."

Santana had a feeling she knew who her Commander spoke of, but the words tumbled out of her mouth before she was able to stop them, "Who?"

"Sonya"

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><p><strong>Who saw that coming? :P Please, drop a hello! Thoughts are welcome :D<strong>

**Reviews are fantastic!**


	6. Chapter 6

**I'm trying to turn out a chapter a day. They tend to be smaller, but I hope you all don't mind.**

**I hope you like the new chapter :)**

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><p>The silence that hung between the two beings was deadly. Santana itched to speak, but she felt as if she had already done so much. However, the magnitude of what she was just told plagued her thoughts. If what Quinn was telling her was true, then this really should be the happiest moment of her life. She had just found her true soulmate after several hundred years of being alone. The only problem was that she knew how much remembering her lost soulmate hurt her friend. She was there the day Sonya died, and she held her friend as her heart shattered into a billion pieces.<p>

Santana looked to the side at distant hazel, _Oh Quinn…if only there had been a way._ Over the centuries she had noticed Quinn closing herself off more and more, as if she was losing hope of ever being reunited with her love. She had once told Quinn to hold on to hope, but she doubted that saying the same thing now 600 years later was going to have the same effect. Santana felt completely helpless.

Quinn wasn't in as much turmoil over the memories as Santana believed her to be in. Yes, she did miss Sonya and there are moments when she's not in control and the events of the past cause a reaction, but thankfully most of the time she's in complete control. Over so many years, the wounds do tend to heal, even if the scars, much like the physical one she still carries, remain. The meditation helps. After learning the technique, she was able to focus only on the happy memories but no matter how strong she's become there's still cracks. _Quinn…stop being selfish_ a tiny voice broke through the hazy fog of Quinn's psych. Quinn blinked. The voice was correct. Here she was, dwelling on the past when her friend that kept her together for many centuries will finally experience true joy. For a brief moment, Sonya's smile crossed her mind and Quinn couldn't stop the infectious smile from blossoming on her face.

"Hey," Quinn's husky voice rang out softly.

Santana looked over and was surprised by the smile on her friends face, "Yeah?"

Quinn smiled brightly, still on a high from the memory, "Are you not happy my friend?"

"You're fucking kidding me right? I'm ecstatic!" Santana exclaimed with a laugh.

Quinn laughed and leaned over to give Santana a one armed hug, "I'm happy for you, I really am. I'm sorry for being a mood killer," she finished jokingly, but with an edge of seriousness.

With a shake of her head, Santana looked at Quinn warmly, "You could never kill the mood Commander. It's all good!"

The blonde quirked her eyebrow and smirked, "So…..how are you going to tell Brittany?"

Santana's laughter died with a choke.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXX**

"You should go talk to her…" Brittany stated from the bed as she watched Rachel walk around examining the room.

"Talk to who?"

Brittany rolled her eyes, "Don't play dumb, you know who…"

Rachel paused with her hands on her hips, and turned to the blonde lazing on the bed, "And why would I want to do this?"

"For one, it's really awkward if you're both fighting. Two, you should apologize for exploding downstairs. Three, she's here to protect you…you ought to make nice. Oh….did I mention she's keeping you alive?" Brittany raised her eyebrow with a challenge.

"Ok, ok I get it. I suppose I can make nice, because I have to ask her something that I know she isn't going to like" a wicked gleam entered the brunette's dark eyes.

Brittany cocked her head to the side, "And what would that be?"

"My dear friend...we are women are we not? We need the bare essentials!" Rachel responded in a girlish squeal.

Brittany laughed, "Good luck with that!"

After Rachel had left the blonde in the room, she headed downstairs to try and find her nemesis. Rachel couldn't stop the shiver from traveling up her spine from the creaking of the old staircase. At the foot of the steps, Rachel stuck her head into the living room where the blonde had last been seen and saw nothing. Next, she tilted her head towards the kitchen and heard nothing. The last place she checked was the den, and still she couldn't find her. She was considering checking back upstairs when she heard muffled talking from outside, but above her somehow.

_Oh, she wouldn't….what the hell am I thinking? She has wings, of course she would!_ Rachel sighed dramatically and flew out the door.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXX**

"Quinn, you've got company," Santana said pointing down toward the ground where Rachel Berry stood with her hands on her hips staring up at them.

Quinn looked down and couldn't stop the groan from passing her lips, "What now?" she mumbled.

Rachel shaded her eyes from the sun with her palm as she looked at the two women on the roof. _Un-fucking believable. Of course they would hang out on a roof, I mean that's natural right?_ Rachel shook her head and yelled out, "Quinn!"

A feminine voice boomed down at her, "YES?"

"Could you please come down here? As much as I love yelling…." She drifted off hoping the blonde would catch her drift.

Quinn looked at Santana, "You think she'll kill me?"

Santana snorted, "I highly doubt it. Go talk to her, I'm going to see if I can find Brittany." With that, the Latina stood up and jumped into the air before dropping down next to a startled Rachel Berry.

Rachel jumped when Santana landed next to her loudly. She thought the drop must have hurt, but the woman seemed fine. The tan woman offered her a smile and a wave before heading back into the house. Not a moment later, flapping of wings reached Rachel's ears, and Quinn appeared next to her. She wasn't even fazed by the massive wings anymore.

A thin blonde eyebrow rose, "How can I help you?"

Rachel clasped her hands together nervously, "Look, I'm not really….into apologizing and stuff. However, I can acknowledge that I was acting childish. I'm still not ok with the situation…" she sent the blonde a warning look, "But, I am sorry for yelling at you."

Quinn nodded stoically, "Very well, apology accepted."

"Great! Now I was wondering if we could…"

"No" Quinn cut the woman off before side stepping her and heading toward the door.

Rachel blinked and gaped, "Wh…hey…wait you didn't even listen to what I had to say! I said sorry!" she stuttered.

Quinn swiveled around on her heel quickly, "I'm saying no because I already know you want to do something I won't find safe. Staying here is our best bet."

Rachel took a deep breath to keep herself from overreacting again, "I've thought of this, just hear me out ok? It's a solid plan."

Quinn figured she should at least give her charge a chance to explain herself. Otherwise she'd be in another argument again. "Ok, what do you have in mind?"

"It's easy really. If we are expected to be in your care for a long time, Brittany and I are going to need to have clothes, toiletries; the essentials. Before you say we won't be safe…" Rachel quickly added when she noticed the blonde going to respond. "We will have you and Santana be there with us. I even think that to save time, you and I could go to my place and Santana could go with Brittany to hers."

Quinn really thought about the request. The only way to make peace with this woman was to make some concessions. _I suppose she will need some clothes and whatnot. Otherwise, we'd have to buy them stuff which will be difficult with the wings._ Quinn didn't want to resort to taking the pill because the Void could attack at any given moment and the pill gave them a disadvantage. _However, if we do it we would have to go at night for cover; means a higher chance of an attack. Splitting up is NOT a good idea, but the longer we are out the more we become targets. Splitting would save time however. But is it worth the risk?_

Rachel's chocolate eyes watched the warrior closely. The woman seemed to be warring with herself. Her wings kept twitching nervously and she kept shifting her weight from one leg to the other. Rachel really needed this idea to pass; otherwise she would go crazy without some of her things, things that held memories for her. Also, she needed to send word to her fathers or else they would call in the National Guard if she went missing without word.

"Let's say, I do agree to this…not that I am!" she added quickly as a gleam entered Rachel's eyes, "If we do this, if, I would need you to follow my direction implicitly. You can't question me nor argue. We will have to wait till the cover of darkness, and we will be fast. No exceptions ok?" Quinn didn't know when her hypothetical question became a fact and she was somehow agreeing.

"YES! Yes, of course I'll listen. Anything, anything at all and I'll do. No, we'll do," Rachel's body literally vibrated up and down slightly where she stood. Or perhaps Quinn was going mad, which at this point was a possibility.

_Of course I will somehow regret this_ Quinn thought with a mental sigh. "Alright, then it's settled. Tonight, we'll go and collect your things. Let's go inform our companions." Quinn motioned her arm for Rachel to head first into the house. She pressed her wings close to her body to make sure not to clip the woman on accident.

Rachel literally skipped into the safe house. Quinn shook her head and followed the insane woman. As infuriating as the girl was, Quinn couldn't deny that she made her feel things. Whether these feelings were good or bad…that is yet to be seen, but nonetheless it doesn't change the fact that it's been centuries since she had last felt anything at all.

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><p><strong>I hope you guys liked it. Next chapter should be interesting :) PLEASE review, even if it's anonymous. I can't begin to tell you how much it means to have reviews.<strong>


	7. Chapter 7

**Hello everyone! I stayed up pretty late finishing this up for you all. And I almost made this two chapters, but I decided not to cut you off on a cliffhanger.**

**I'm really happy with how this chapter turned out. I don't know...I just like it.**

**Enjoy, and Please Review.**

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><p>Under the cover of the night sky, the four women were able to leave the safe house. As Rachel had suggested, her and Quinn went to her place. Quinn absolutely refused to let Santana guard Rachel. She felt it was her burden alone to make sure Rachel was kept from harm. Santana understood and wasn't offended. She had her own problem with having to make sure Brittany was safe, especially now. The flight to the women's homes was silent, if not a little bit awkward. This time both women were conscious, coherent and fully aware of the danger they were in. Although, most of the fear the women felt was from feeling the wind rustle their clothes and knowing they were hundreds of miles in the air.<p>

Quinn nodded to Santana before tilting her wings and flying in a separate direction. She had agreed to meet her friend in half an hour back at the house. If she wasn't there, then the Latina had orders to come find her.

Rachel lived in a fairly modern apartment complex. The property was arranged around a massive pool in the center, which allowed most residents a pool side view. Luckily, Rachel lived in one of the one bedroom apartments on the top floor of one of the many buildings. This meant that Quinn could drop down on the balcony, in order to avoid being seen, and wait for Rachel to unlock the double doors. However, in order for it to work, Quinn would have to gently drop Rachel down in one of the many corridors leading to her door. Begrudgingly, the warrior let go of Rachel and quickly flew into the air to circle around and land on the girl's balcony.

Rachel took a moment to make herself presentable after being dropped, if not a tad bit rudely. She ran a shaking hand through her hair and shifted her clothes, even though that didn't help the "windblown" effect at all. She fished out her keys from her jeans and efficiently unlocked the door swiftly. Normally, the brunette would have stormed into the darkened apartment and continued on as if nothing were the matter, but after what she had experienced in the park the other night Rachel couldn't help but be frightened at the pitch black darkness filling every crevice of her home. The hallway allowed a tiny stream of light to enter into the apartment, but that didn't give the woman much to go on. The more she stood there staring into the dark, the more she thought she could see things slither within it.

_Shake it off Rachel, Quinn's out on the balcony. You're fine._ Rachel shook her head and quickly reached for the light switch. She half expected everything to go terribly wrong and the light switch not to work, and then get eaten by whatever the hell a _Lurker_ was. Or maybe her love of horror movies had finally caught up with her. The electricity worked and her apartment was fine, sans "Lurkers".

"I'm going nuts…I just know it…" Rachel mumbled to herself and locked the front door behind her. The atmosphere in the apartment had an air of stillness, as it hadn't been disturbed in weeks. The brunette was just there the day before last. Even though Rachel figured her mind was playing tricks on her, she had the sudden urge to turn on all the lights in her home. She did just that, at least in the living room and kitchen. Brown eyes took in the living room. All her photos, trinkets, and furniture were exactly as she remembered it being.

The brunette walked towards her closet near the front door where she kept her shoes to grab a couple of gym bags and a large duffle. She silently hoped that Quinn would be able to help her with these. _Shit, I really should let her in now. But she'll get in my way. She can wait a moment or two_. Rachel chuckled deviously to herself and walked towards her bedroom. She nearly jumped out of her skin when loud tapping echoed in the apartment when she passed by the balcony. Rachel clutched her wildly pounding chest and took a quivering breath. It would seem Quinn was getting impatient. _Just for that she can wait another couple of minutes_, she thought with a huff.

"Rachel, open up. Come on…" Quinn whispered harshly from outside. _Infuriating woman!_

Rachel smirked and continued on towards her room, but not before shouting over her shoulder to the warrior, "In a moment….or three"

Quinn could practically breathe fire.

Rachel knew she would regret that but she couldn't bring herself to care much. She shouldered one of the gym bags and held the other two. She pushed her hip into her bedroom door and slipped into her cold room. Using her elbow, she was able to flick on the light switch next to the door frame. The scene that met her caused her to drop her bags with a loud thump. Rachel struggled to breathe, her throat clenched before an explosion of sound erupted from her mouth.

Quinn could not believe the nerve of this human. You'd think after 8 centuries of being in existence, an experienced warrior, would have seen this coming. Quinn huffed and actually began tapping her foot. The balcony was _not_ the most comfortable place in the world, especially when she could feel the railing rubbing both sides of her wings. Through the crack in the blinds, she was able to see the brunette ignore her plea and disappear into another hallway. The sight made her anxious and jittery. Her sharp hearing heard the brunette's last words and she just closed her eyes in annoyance.

But then Rachel Berry let out a bone chilling scream.

Quinn's sharp hearing picked this up, and instantly she grabbed the door knob to one of the doors and pulled. She met resistance. Quinn's face scrunched up and used her entire body to pull the door open; it flung open with a loud pop. The door was just bouncing off the metal railing by the time the blonde was by Rachel's side.

She placed a gentle hand on the smaller woman's shoulder and pulled her back behind her, while stepping forward with her sword already in hand. Somehow, in the 2 seconds that it took her to flash to the girl's aid she had pulled out her sword from behind her back and unsheathed it. The glowing sword illuminated Rachel's once immaculate bedroom.

Quinn relaxed slightly when she let down her shields and made sure none of the Void were around. She carefully placed her sword back into its home on her back. Hazel eyes looked behind her and she couldn't help but feel slight pity.

"Are you ok?" Quinn ducked her head so her electric eyes could meet wide chocolate ones. She could see Rachel was on the verge of tears.

Rachel could only nod numbly. She couldn't remove her eyes from the scene. Her room was completely trashed. She could handle her materials being looked through, or her clothes thrown around, but she couldn't handle this. All of her things were broken. No, they were more than broken…they were shredded. What used to be her bed was now a pile of twisted metal and small ripped pieces of material. Her clothes were mostly, if not completely, ruined. The drawers of her dresser were pulled out and wood chips littered the ground. The blinds had been ripped off the window. Her bed sheets layered the ground, corner to corner. The mirror over her dresser had been shattered; leaving sharp pieces all over what remained standing of the wooden structure.

However, what truly horrified Rachel was the stench, and the black substance smeared into many of her belongings. It was even smeared all over the walls. The air was acrid and potent. Rachel had once worked on cadavers in medical school and had been exposed to different types of decomposition but this was a smell that was worse than death. It settled in your bones, like a chilling blanket and infected every pore of your skin.

"What…what is that shit Quinn?" Rachel's wide eyes begged of her protector.

Quinn sneered as she took in the blatant display of disrespect and dominance, "Fucking animals. I really don't think you want to know what that shit is. You might be able to salvage some personal things," Quinn glanced around helplessly, "Just don't touch the black stuff. Do you want me to help you? We have about fifteen minutes left…" she trailed off. What more could she say?

"No, no I can do this alone. I'd prefer it even…but thank you for the offer…" She tried to smile but failed, "I…umm…..could you give me a couple minutes? There's not going to be much I can find…but…"

Quinn nodded, "Yes, I'll just be outside. If you need me just give a yell." Quinn retreated from the room giving the woman time to mourn over her personal belongings.

Rachel sighed heavily. It wasn't even the actual things that hurt the most; it was the memories that were in them. Her fathers helped her furnish her home and even bought her that mattress. She took a hesitant step forward and cringed under the crunch of the broken mirror. Rachel's scattered mind absentmindedly hoped she didn't get seven years of bad luck. Rachel snorted. What a trivial thing to think when at the rate things were going…she may not be around for seven years.

On her fifth step into the bedroom Rachel looked down at her feet and found a photo of her and her fathers. It had been taken while she was in high school…when she didn't have a care in the world. Oh how far she was from that Rachel Berry. Miraculously, the picture had avoided most of the destruction; only a rip at the bottom gave any evidence to what ordeal it had survived. She picked it up and slid it into her back pocket carefully.

In the end, she was able to find 3 pairs of jeans, 4 shorts and about 6 shirts in total in the room. The creatures hadn't thought of breaking into her closet where she stored the clothes that didn't fit in the dresser. With that find, she was able to add 5 more shirts and plenty of bras and panties. Her bounty filled two of her three bags. As an afterthought, she used the last bag to throw in a bunch of medical supplies she had in case of an emergency and all of her toiletries.

When she stepped out into her living room, Quinn quickly took two of her bags.

"Thank you," Rachel said softly, "I was able to find enough things to last me. I just need to do one last thing." She dropped her last bag near the balcony. She spied the broken door but didn't say anything since it really was her fault for not letting Quinn into the apartment when she asked.

Quinn didn't have the heart to say no, "Alright, but five minutes…."

Rachel nodded and disappeared into another room opposite of her bedroom. She released the breath she was holding when she walked in the office and everything was perfectly fine. Quickly, she grabbed a pen, an envelope, a stamp and a blank printer paper.

Exactly 3 minutes later, Rachel returned to the living room clutching a two sealed envelopes. Quinn raised her eyebrow.

Rachel lifted the item, "This is a letter to both of my dad's explaining to them that the stress of work has finally caught with me and I'm taking an extended vacation to Hawaii. They always bugged me about taking some time off." She paused, holding back tears, "This…this other one is my letter of resignation to the hospital. There's a mail box down by the lobby, I can go drop it and you can pick me up."

Quinn opened her mouth the protest. She wasn't about to fall for this again.

Rachel raised her palm, stopping the blonde in her tracks. "Trust me…..I won't be doing anything. Not now…"

Quinn nodded mutely. The poor girl's shoulders were hunched slightly and she was just completely defeated. As much as she felt sorry for the girl, she still had a duty to perform. "Very well, but you have one minute. At the end, I'm grabbing you and we're leaving."

With a soft, "ok", Rachel grabbed her duffle and left her apartment for the last time without a second look.

Quinn looked after the woman and frowned. As much as she wanted to be upset with her for her actions this evening…she couldn't. The remorse she felt was overwhelming, but she refused to analyze it further. She _did_ after all have a duty to carry out. She swiftly grabbed Rachel's remaining belongings and headed out towards the balcony. A picture frame on the girl's entertainment center caught her attention.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Rachel pushed her arms through the straps on the duffle bag, allowing her to carry it like a backpack. She looked up and wandered to the side of the building so Quinn could drop down without being seen.

Rachel was reminded of the first time she saw Quinn. The blonde literally falling from the sky to be her savior. A part of her hates Quinn for bringing this to her life, but an even bigger part just wants to thank her for how much she's done and will be doing. However, right now was not the time to reveal that to the warrior. Quinn's feet touched the ground and her wings flapped to keep her balance sending Rachel's hair flying all over the place. The brunette didn't mind anymore.

"Come on, let's head back" Quinn's husky voice vibrated in her ear. Rachel smiled slightly at the site of Quinn carrying her bags.

"Give me those. I can carry them," Rachel stepped into Quinn's personal space and pulled on one of the bags.

"Fine, but I'll carry the other," the voice dared Rachel to argue.

Rachel nodded giving in to the blonde's wishes. She grunted when Quinn moved in a flash and had one arm around her shoulder and the other under her knees lifting her off the ground. The hand behind her shoulder held the final gym bag as it dangled under the suspended brunette. Quinn curved her lips into a slight smile, mentally satisfied at the girl's surprised look. She bent her legs and bolted into the sky back towards the safe house.

Air rushed past Rachel's ears. She tightened her grip on the blonde's neck and pressed her overheated cheek to the warrior's cold breastplate. Instantly, the only thing registering in the brunette's mind was the coolness of Quinn's armor, the warmth from her bare arms and the bliss of soaring high above the clouds.

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><p><strong>So, what did you think? REVIEW please!<strong>

**And I have a question that I need answered. I want to know if you all want a chapter where we see how Santana and Brittany did at her apartment. Do you want this chapter? Yes or no? Leave in a review, thank you :)**


	8. Chapter 8

**Hey guys! Here's your next update. I actually decided not to add in a brittana chapter only because I had already started writing this part before I got any answers. Also, there will be some Brittana scenes later on. I'm sorry if I've disappointed anyone.**

**But, here's your next part. Enjoy :) Review if you can please.**

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><p>"You're late," Santana teased when Quinn landed in the yard.<p>

"I was late by 20 seconds. Bite me…" Quinn muttered as she dropped the bag hanging from her left hand. With the bag free, Quinn looked down at Rachel. She had her eyes closed and seemed asleep. "Well, this is a problem…" Quinn couldn't stop from quirking her lip slightly.

Santana chuckled, "Commander, I didn't know you were so comfortable. After all these years, who knew what I was missing?"

Quinn rolled her eyes and folded her wings against her back. Using her brute strength, she held Rachel with one arm and tugged the bag she had fallen asleep with out of her hands. She placed it next to the one she had already freed. Quinn frowned, how was she supposed to get the one off her back? She let Rachel's feet touch the ground while she supported her weight with her arms.

"Rachel," Quinn said firmly down to the comatose woman. Rachel did nothing. "Rachel….Rachel come on wake up for a minute…" still nothing. Hazel eyes glared at Santana when she heard her snicker in the background. Quinn narrowed her eyes in thought. After a few seconds she grinned. She had learned this technique a few hundred years ago. It helped when yelling around the battlefield. She took a deep breath and pitched her voice to the right octave. "RACHEL WAKE UP" her powerful voice boomed.

The result was instantaneous. Rachel's eyes shot open and she started falling backwards. Her chest pounded as she panicked for a split second. Luckily, Quinn's fast reflexes kept the girl from falling on her ass.

"Hey, it's alright. We're safe…I just need you to take off your duffle ok?" Quinn told the girl in a soft voice as to not spook her again. She felt a little bit of remorse, but what else was she going to do? She wasn't sure how Rachel did it, but she muttered something incoherent and slid the bag off. Then, she wobbled for a bit on her feet trying to stay upright. Quinn sighed. Santana was so going to tease her about this. She moved forward and picked Rachel up bridal style and walked into the house, up the stairs, and into the master bedroom. Of course, the small woman was fast asleep.

_Twice in two days_, Quinn thought with a raised eyebrow. With one final look, she walked down stairs and back outside to get the girls bags. As she thought, Santana was still outside waiting for her.

"That's all she's got?" Santana motioned to the three bags in the grass.

"Yes, it would seem that we weren't the first people to visit her home since last night," she leaned down and picked up one of the bags, shouldering it.

"The Void was there? Quinn, I knew we shouldn't have split up…" Santana frowned, growing upset.

"Calm down. They weren't there, but they had been. Her room was obliterated; as in, completely torn apart. I'm surprised she was able to find this much stuff. Whatever came after her, scent marked her room. Their feces were all over her belongings and even the walls," Quinn reached down and shouldered the other bag.

Santana scrunched up her nose in disgust, "That's just fucking disgusting. Is she alright?"

Quinn nodded and leaned down to grab the third in her hand. "Yeah, she's just shaken up a bit. At least she didn't pass out this time; she's just tired. Did things go smoothly at Brittany's?"

"Oh yeah…." Santana winked.

Quinn snorted and shook her head, "Of course you would."

"I got game, what can I say?" Santana bragged and smirked.

"Uh huh"

The tan woman rolled her eyes, "I'm just kidding. It did go well, but nothing happened. I was able to talk to her a little. Can I ask you something personal?"

Quinn nodded, "Sure"

"How….like…when you told umm…Sonya about the whole love thing, how did you do it?" the nervous woman stuttered out.

"I didn't," Quinn shrugged flippantly.

"Well, how the hell did she find out?"

Quinn shifted her burdens and looked her friend, "Telling someone who isn't one of us that they are your one true love is not an easy pill to swallow. No matter what you both feel. For me, I decided that since I knew what she was…that it was enough. I'd let nature take its course, and that maybe one day I would tell her what she meant to me."

"Did you ever tell her? How did she take it?"

Quinn let a smile grace her face for a moment, "Sonya was a very practical woman. Perhaps, ahead of her time but she took the news rather well…and…it was one of the best days of my life." A charming grin stretched across the blonde's face.

Santana's heart warmed at the sight, _there's the Quinn I remember_. "So…you let her fall in love with you without letting her know?"

Quinn hummed in agreement.

Santana pouted, "But that's so…_slow_. Where's the fun?"

Quinn laughed and started walking back towards the house. "It can be, just be patient. Oh and Santana?"

The tan skinned woman ruffled her wings and turned her head to the retreating blonde.

"I was the one that fell in love first. It's just how it happens."

Santana couldn't wipe the dreamy smile from appearing on her face at the thought of Brittany, "Oh I know…"

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Once inside the house, Quinn quickly dropped off the bags in the bedroom next to the sleeping woman. Again, she quietly slipped out of the room unnoticed. She was walking down towards the stairs when she paused. _Is that…crying?_ Quinn squinted and tilted her head trying to figure out where the sound was originating from. The door to Santana's room was cracked open. She slowly took steps to the old wooden door, and was able to see that Brittany was sniffling on the bed; her shoulders shaking.

_Now what?_ Quinn thought with a mental sigh. Her body betrayed her and knocked on the door. The other blonde looked up with red rimmed blue eyes. She quickly wiped them away and motioned for Quinn to enter.

Quinn faltered slightly not expecting to be let in. She stood awkwardly in front of the blonde.

"I…was just dropping Rachel's stuff…and then I heard…are you ok?" Quinn mumbled lowly.

Brittany nodded, "Yeah, I'm fine. I think it's finally sinking in for me. What's actually happening to us. It's hard having to pack up your stuff knowing you may never go back, you know?"

Quinn took a seat next to the shaken woman, spreading out her wings behind Brittany so she could sit comfortably, and stared at the opposite wall, "It wasn't always this hectic. I remember, when I was still new to this _war_, that the Void…"she paused, "the creatures that attacked you. We call the place where they dwell 'the Void'. Anyways, I remember a time when they didn't bother in the human world. Of course you had Darkness here….but the physical representations of Darkness fought us on other realms." Quinn looked at Brittany, who looked more confused than anything.

"What I'm trying to say…is that maybe there will come a time again when it won't be so bad. I've learned that when dealing with these things, you can never lose hope. If you lose hope and you succumb to the darkness…there is no hope for victory."

Brittany nodded even though she didn't really know why this was relevant. She didn't really know the warrior but she knew it would be highly offensive to do anything else but listen. "I think…I understand."

Quinn smiled slightly knowing the other woman didn't really know what she was talking. Hell, Quinn didn't really know what she was talking about. "Sorry, I tend to preach when I'm in certain situations. Did you get everything you needed?"

"Yeah, I didn't really have much. I only took the most important things I'd need"

"Very well, are you hungry?" Quinn stood up quickly, while making sure not to clip the human with her wing. She wasn't quite sure what to with herself anymore. She needed to escape.

"Not really…but I suppose I could try?" Brittany slowly composed herself. She hated being in a crappy mood. It did no one any good being upset.

"I think we've got some food left over from this morning in the kitchen. Come on I'll show you," Quinn said as she turned and walked out the door. Brittany followed close behind her.

The two blondes were walking down the stairs when a loud boom echoed through the house, shaking all the furniture and glass. Quinn and Brittany held onto the railing for support. Immediately Quinn's body went on high alert. In a split second she dropped her mental shields and cursed at what she knew was coming. _Shitshitshitshitshitshitshit_. Quinn's eyes widened slightly when she remembered Santana was still outside without her armor or sword.

Quinn swirled around, accidently bumping against Brittany with her wings. She shot a hand out and settled the girl's balance. She spoke firmly and quickly. "Brittany, go upstairs with Rachel right now. Wake her up if she's not. Don't come down no matter what you hear." Quinn got a shocked blank stare in return, "Go!" the warrior nudged her up the stairs. Brittany turned around, almost tripping, and stormed back up the stairs to Rachel's room.

Quinn ran down the stairs and crashed out of the front door with her shoulder. Santana was flying towards her, while behind her two massive black shapes lumbered towards the house. Quinn ran forward and pulled her sword out of her armor and brandished it; the light emanating from the object shining brightly in the darkness. Santana flew by her and Quinn only hoped she was going to grab her equipment. From the energy readings she was picking up from these creatures, she wasn't sure how much longer she would be able to hold them off. These were definitely not lower level demons.

Quinn took a running leap and flew into the sky. Her eyes widened slightly when the creatures leapt and joined her. _Shriekers._ Both of the beasts had four limbs for running, each with its' own set of wickedly sharp claws. The head of the animal was rounded, with bone spikes poking out in every direction and a large mouth dripping with saliva. It's canines glistened in the moonlight. Wings sprouted from both of the monsters' spines, lifting them into the air. A high pitch scream hit Quinn's sensitive hearing causing her to wince. Still, she pressed on intent on meeting the beasts to give her partner enough time to grab her things.

Quinn collided with the first creature with a painful thump. One of the claws ripped its way across her forearm and shoulder. Quinn used her wings to pull herself away from the dangerous limbs. She brought her sword down and cut it across the midsection. The Shrieker bellowed and twisted in midair slamming its thick tail into her side. The impact sent the blonde falling towards the ground. Quinn's entire left side burned with white hot pain. Her wings stopped her from a bloody impact with the earth. Movement above her caused Quinn to glance up quickly. The Shrieker that she had wounded was flying straight down at her with its claws out ready to strike.

The blonde flew out of the way only to be pounded in the back by the other Shrieker she had taken her eyes off of while fighting the other. Pain exploded across Quinn's spine causing black spots to litter her vision and her ears to whine. Next thing she knew she was falling fast toward the ground. Her wings tried to stop her fall but the momentum was too much. She landed hard on her back sending her head bouncing off the grass. Darkness enveloped her vision.

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><p><strong>So, what did you all think? Stay tuned for the next chapter :)<strong>

**Please Review! Gimme your thoughts.**


	9. Chapter 9

**I'm sure many of you are waiting for this right here! Enjoy :)**

**A/N: I'd like to give a shout out to the people who repeatedly keep reviewing my story. It makes me incredibly happy :) So Jupiter01, tsketch, faberrydragon, grangergirl22, and Shadowcub...thank you all very very much :) I feel like I'm writing for you guys and I don't even care lol**

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><p>"QUINN!" Rachel yelled from the upstairs window. Her mind was still foggy but she was able to pick up key words from Brittany's explanation of what was going on to give her enough sense to run to the window and watch the battle playing out. Her heart dropped into the pit of her stomach when she saw Quinn drop like a rock from several hundred feet in the air. No matter how 'super' Quinn was, Rachel knew that fall was devastating. And the fact that the blonde didn't move after impact did nothing to help her nerves.<p>

Rachel turned around, crashing into her friend, and started running towards the door, intent on checking to make sure Quinn was ok. Brittany's long legs quickly ate up the distance and she wrapped her arms around the smaller woman's waist holding her back.

"Let go! Brittany let go of me!" Rachel screamed while struggling trying to get out of the blonde's embrace.

Brittany cursed when one of Rachel's flailing elbows hit her across the face. Still, the blonde kept her arms locked around the girl's midsection. "Rachel, fuck, stop!"

As much as Rachel wanted to listen to the taller blonde, the need to run outside was overwhelming her. "Just let go, I've got to get to her! Don't you see?"

Brittany grunted and used all her strength to drag Rachel back inside the bedroom. She held Rachel close and whispered into Rachel's ear fiercly, "No, no...she told me stay here…with you. And damnit, I will follow it. She wants to keep you safe and so do I. Going out there won't do us any good. You would die. Do you hear me?" she shook the brunette roughly as if that would get the message across quicker. Tears prickled the back of her blue eyes.

By the time Santana made it back outside in full armor, she was able to watch in horror as Quinn's body thudded to the ground seemingly lifeless. The Latina screamed and sent out a large flux of her energy to get the creature's attention. At the moment they were stalking towards her Commander's body. The two Shriekers turned their attention to the other warrior that appeared.

Santana took to the sky with a running leap and used her powerful wings to tackle one of the Shriekers in midair. Their two bodies collided with a thunderous clap.

Rachel sagged dejectedly against the blonde's body and shuddered trying to take deep breathes to calm herself. "I do….it just hurts…" came the whisper of a reply. Rachel didn't know what was wrong with her but she just knew she _needed_ to go Quinn. Just then a resounding clap startled the women. The looked at each other, and then ran back to the window.

Shrieking cries and the free falling feeling filled Santana's body. The creature clawed at the warrior as they both tumbled down toward the earth at an alarming rate. Santana winced as the razor sharp claws sliced cleanly through her exposed skin. She brought a leg up and kicked it's underbelly while using the pommel of the sword she knocked it across the temple. The Shrieker roared in pain and used its wings to latch onto the Latina's wings, locking them in a deadly roll. Santana struggled to move her weight around so she was on top of the creature. Dark eyes spotted the ground speeding up to meet them. She quickly brought her sword between them and buried the tip deep into the monsters' chest. With a scream, she kicked off the thrashing Shrieker and used her muscular wings to push off the beast and into the sky. A split second later, the impaled creature pounded into the dirt with a crash; dead.

Santana's eyes found the other creature flying straight towards her in outrage. She angled her wings and dove down to retrieve her sword. She landed on her feet and bounced to soak up the force. Her hand grabbed onto the hilt and she pulled hard sending black ooze flying everywhere. She turned and cried out in pain as the last creature was upon her. It dug its hind claws into her thighs, effectively pinning her. It's forelimbs dug into Santana's shoulders. Even though the woman's shoulder plates protected her from most of the deadly claws, one managed to find it's way under the metal and into the soft tissue of her left shoulder. Instinctively Santana's grip tightened her sword hilt; it was her last lifeline.

The creature bellowed in her face, dripping saliva on her face. Using the last of her reserves, Santana let out an anguished cry and lifted her sword, edge side up, under the Shrieker's wing and into it's flesh. Hot, warm liquid instantly soaked Santana's sword arm. The creature bucked and tried to bash it's head into the fallen woman's with its horns. Santana wiggled her head side to side, barely avoiding the lethal weapons.

_Fuck!_ Santana screamed as the Shrieker used it's dying strength to bury it's three inch long claw further into her shoulder. Santana brought up her legs and kicked the dead animal off her. She dropped her sword and wrapped both hands around the limb that penetrated her shoulder. With a pull, the claw slowly slid out with a sickening, squishy, pop. The Latina thought she was going to pass out; fresh warm blood oozed out of the wound starting to drench the grass under her.

With her injured arm and shoulder close to her body, Santana rolled over onto her knees. She pulled her sword free and slid it back into it's sheath on her back. Breathing heavily, the woman struggled to her feet and limped her way to her fallen Commander. Immediately Santana felt for a pulse. _Oh thank the Maker_ Santana thought. Very faintly she could feel a slow pulse on the blonde's neck.

Black spots littered the tan woman's vision and she fought the exhaustion trying to take over her battered body. In the distance she heard the front door to the safe house open. Brittany and Rachel were running toward her and Quinn.

Brittany gasped at the sight of the bloody Latina, "Oh my god….where are you bleeding? Are you ok?"

Santana winced as nimble fingers touched her shoulder wound, "Yeah…just…the fucker found it's way under my breastplate."

Rachel scrambled to Quinn's side. She choked back a sob. Santana lifted her head and spoke to the distraught brunette, "She's alive. Barely, but she's still breathing."

Rachel couldn't trust her voice yet, so she nodded in understanding and carefully examined the blonde's body. Scratches and dark bruises littered her smooth skin. Inky black blood soaked her breast plate and exposed arms and legs. She didn't have any open wounds like Santana, but Rachel feared internal bleeding and any damage done to her spine.

Santana coughed, wheezed and swayed unsteadily. Brittany carefully ducked under the woman's uninjured arm and let her lean on her. Santana blinked and spoke carefully, "Come on…we need…to get inside."

Rachel perked up, "We can't move Quinn. We have no idea what kind of damage was done during the fall!"

Santana breathed heavier and heavier, "I know…but…we need to go inside now. The portal is still open into this realm and I don't think those were the last two. If we don't leave now, she won't be alive no matter what. We can drag her to the house….I don't think I can fly right now," she finished softly looking down.

Rachel frowned and knew she had no choice. Santana was right. She leaned down, grabbed the fallen woman's sword and slid it into her armor, and then draped the unconscious blonde's arm over her shoulder. Brittany walked over and took the other arm over her free shoulder. Together, the four women moved towards the house as a unit.

They had just reached the house when Santana sensed two more beast slip into the human realm. Santana cursed mentally and tried shake off her growing headache. She was still losing a lot of blood quickly. She leaned into Brittany and watched Rachel gently set Quinn against the bottom step of the staircase.

"We can't stay here….there's more coming," both Rachel and Brittany looked at her quickly absorbing what that meant.

"What are we going to do…"Rachel yelled frantically. With Quinn down and with the shape Santana was in they would be sitting ducks.

"I don't know…" Santana said honestly. She was having a hard time thinking with the pain throbbing from her shoulder, the sticky liquid dripping down her side, and the killer headache taking over her thoughts.

"There's got to be something…come on Santana think…what can we do?" Brittany tried to say calmly, even though she was terrified. She spared a glance back outside the door and could barely make out to large shapes running towards the house. Wide blue eyes begged Santana to have the answer.

"Hold on, hold on. Give me a moment…" Santana's forehead scrunched.

"I hate to break it to you but we don't have a moment here…" Brittany insisted in a panicked voice.

The two humans jumped when twin shrieks roared in the distance. Santana only flinched; it reminded her of the shitty situation they were stuck in. There was only one thing she could think of doing, but she wasn't sure if she had enough energy left to do it or if it would actually work.

Santana's heart thudded at so many uncertainties, but this was the only out she could think of. "Quickly, Rachel, wrap your arms around Quinn. Brittany, wrap your arms around Rachel." She ordered. The two women scrambled to follow her bidding. Santana limped toward the two women and wrapped her arms around Brittany and Quinn. They formed a small circle.

"Whatever you see or hear, do _not_ let go of each other or me." Santana said softly. The ground shook beneath them as if a cavalry of horses were stampeding their way.

Brittany and Rachel nodded in understanding. Santana closed her eyes and lowly muttered words that the two women guessed to be, in her native language. The harsh sounding words stopped and a flash of light filled the entryway, temporarily blinding the women. Roaring filled their ears and they felt their bodies being stretched and sucked into a chasm.

After what felt like an eternity the women dropped onto a hard surface. The shock caused the women to collapse to the ground; their legs unable to support them. Rachel clung to Quinn and landed next to her face down into…_dirt._ Rachel groaned and sat up spitting out what dirt managed to find its way into her mouth. She looked around and saw Brittany near her slowly moving around. Dark eyes looked back down at Quinn who seemed to be in a blissful state. It terrified Rachel.

"Santana?" Brittany said, while shaking the woman's shoulder. There was no reply. Brittany's heart sank, "Santana…SANTANA!" she screamed helplessly. She knew the woman was losing too much blood. Whatever she had done must have sucked whatever energy she had left. Her fingers searched for a pulse and sighed in relief when she found one.

Rachel stood up and looked around. She didn't recognize this place at all, "Brittany…Brittany…is Santana ok?"

"I don't know. I think she just passed out. She has a steady heartbeat," Brittany replied unevenly.

Rachel turned her head quickly to Santana and cursed, "Fuck. Fuck it all. Brittany…where the hell are we?"

The blonde in question looked up at Rachel and then looked around. They were in the middle of a barren wasteland. Black rocks littered the area as far as the eye could see.

Brittany groaned, "Shit"

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><p><strong>Oh no! What the hell are they going to do now? Stay tuned!<strong>

**Review please :)**


	10. Chapter 10

**Hello everyone, here's your next chapter!**

**I hope you all like it, the end even surprised me and I was the one writing it. Enjoy :)**

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><p>A breeze swooshed in, tugging at the women's clothes, sending small grains of sand in every direction. Brittany and Rachel quickly closed their eyes to protect themselves. However, the wind started to pick up exponentially. Rachel, fearing a sandstorm, ran back to Quinn's side and turned the unconscious woman's body into her own. She pressed her forehead against the blondes and tried to cover both of their faces with her arms so the sand wouldn't suffocate them. Brittany watched through squinted eyes at what Rachel was doing and did the same with Santana. The wind picked up and sand whipped into the woman like a thousand needles. Both humans prayed that the onslaught would end.<p>

As if hearing their prayers, the wind came to a sudden stop. Rachel lifted her head; adrenaline pumping through her veins. Nothing looked different at all. _Shouldn't there be sand?_ Rachel frowned at the thought. None of this made any sense; not that the past couple days have made much anyhow. Rachel looked down at her clothes and noticed there was no sand. Only her skin was red in areas where it had been pummeled by flying sand. Something wasn't right.

Rachel swallowed, trying to coat her dry throat. "Brittany? Are you alright?"

Brittany coughed in reply, "Yeah…yeah we're good. What was that?" she sat up slightly, setting Santana's head down gently.

"I think it was a sandstorm. When I was younger, I took a road trip with my dad's and we got stuck in one in New Mexico. But…..do you notice something odd?" Rachel asked.

Blue eyes scanned the area surrounding them, "Umm…no?"

"The sand Brittany….where's the sand?" Rachel insisted while waving her arms around frantically.

As the brunette pointed out, there was no sand around them. Just black rocks as it had been ten minutes ago. Brittany looked up into a clear blue sky, and then shaded her eyes from a large sun shining brightly. What caught her attention was a smaller circular planet near the sun. It was a deep royal blue. Brittany frowned, and looked down at where her palm rested on black rock. Naturally, the rock _should_ be blistering hot from the sun; it wasn't.

"Rachel, I really don't think we're home anymore"

"Obviously we're not in Ohio anymore Brittany…"

"No, I meant like…Earth"

Rachel shook her head and took a deep breath. _Ok, don't freak out, don't freak out. You're not on Earth….that's not surprising is it?_ Rachel didn't know what was going on anymore. She just needed to hold on for the ride.

Rachel cleared her throat, "That…is an interesting idea. Considering that we're still breathing and still alive…I'd say we're lucky then. Where ever Santana took us must be safe…right?"

Of course, Rachel had to say the wrong words. Something caught Brittany's eyes over Rachel's shoulder. She squinted trying to make out what she was seeing. Blue eyes widened, and she half thought she was seeing a mirage or was hallucinating. Out of nowhere, the sand that had just been striking their defenseless bodies materialized and was twisted around in a vortex slowly touching the earth. As it touched, a body could be seen slowly appearing. First two legs formed, then two more forearms. The animal, that's all Brittany could think of to describe it, was large. It almost looked like a tiger but at least three times as large. Each paw consisted of three appendages, each with at least a four inch long nail.

Rachel noticed Brittany's face go pale and turned her head to look behind her. She watched in horror as this new creature took form. The body was as thick as a log and it had a long agile tail. The beast had a broad chest and a box shaped skull, along with whiskers and large canines that extended well past the lower jaw. The coat of the animal was light sand brown, with random spots of white. When the animal was fully formed it opened it's mouth wide, roared and reared back on it's hind legs. The two petrified women felt the heat blast into their faces and smelled the hot stench of the animal's breath even though it was several hundred feet away.

Rachel clung to Quinn and looked down at her. She whispered harshly, "Quinn. Quinn you need to wake up! Damnit, wake up!" she shook the girl as tears threatened to fall.

Brittany leaned over and stopped her friend from shaking the comatose woman, fearing she'd only hurt her body more. "Rach! Stop, you could hurt her."

The animal dropped down sending the smaller rocks and pebbles into the air slightly before dropping. The beast lowered it's head to the ground and stalked towards them slowly.

Brittany looked around trying to find a place they could go, but there was _nothing_. Just a rolling landscape of pure black rock and a random bush or two. Brittany cursed and then grabbed onto her best friends hand squeezing it tightly.

Rachel met blue eyes and in an instant she was calm. Perhaps it was her body accepting her fate, or just knowing that she wasn't alone, either way her pulse slowed down. It was as if she could see everything clearly. She turned her hand and laced her fingers with her best friends and then leaned over and took Quinn's rough hand. She looked down at the blonde woman and smiled remembering how funny her warrior looked carrying a bunch of bags.

Brittany leaned over and laced her free hand with Santana and leaned down and placed a chaste kiss on her forehead. She smiled brightly remembering how gentle the woman was on the night they met.

By this time the beast was only 100 feet away from the four women. It stopped in it's tracks and examined the group. They could hear the air rushing out of it's nostril in large puffs. The muscles on it's shoulders twitched anxiously and it's claws scratched into the hard surface leaving marks. And then the animal lowered it's body, and collapsed onto the rock watching the women with intelligent amber eyes.

Rachel was scared to move. She was scared to break the silence in case the animal was startled and decided to have an afternoon snack. Rachel's snuck a look over to Brittany out of the corner of her eye. Incredibly, the blonde had untangled her hand from Santana's and was moving it around. Blue eyes watched as amber eyes watched her movement intently but made no motion to move any closer.

Brittany let go of Rachel's hand and stood up slowly, testing the waters. Still, the animal kept it's head down on it's paws. It's ears flattened on it's head and it's tail wagged.

"Brittany, what are you doing?" Rachel hissed quietly.

Brittany waved her off. She didn't know what possessed her to do it, but she took a step forward. The animal twitched it's ear but still remained prone. Brittany took another step, becoming more confident. The animal sat up quickly, but remained seated. The animal panted and licked it's smaller front teeth between it's canines.

Brittany paused and spoke quietly, "Easy there…..it's ok…I don't mean any harm…" the large cat cocked it's head.

Rachel's draw dropped, _Are you kidding me? She's talking to it likes it's a puppy!_

"That's right, now you don't want to hurt us do you?" Brittany asked with a raised eyebrow to the creature.

The animal pawed at the ground and Rachel watched in astonishment as the massive animal shook it's head and flipped it's tail playfully.

Brittany smiled brightly, "See! Look at that Rach. It's not going to hurt us."

"Since when did you become the Monster Whisperer?" Rachel drawled lazily keeping her eyes on the beast. She wasn't as trusting as her friend was.

"I'm not, I just wanted to be a vet before I chose to work on humans instead. Body language speaks louder than words," The blonde shrugged and looked at the animal pensively.

"Great, we aren't going to die. But we need to get Santana and Quinn some help and in the middle of wherever the hell we are….how are we to do that? Or are we going to ask the animal?" Rachel asked sarcastically as she stood up.

Brittany shrugged, "Why not?" she turned her eyes back to intelligent amber, "Do you know where help is?"

The large feline got up on its four legs and purred loudly. It's ears perked up and it clawed the hard rock.

Brittany laughed at Rachel's shocked expression, "There you have it. I don't know about you but we don't have any better choice than to follow the animal."

Rachel frowned and looked down at Quinn. She still hadn't woken up it was well over a half hour since the fall, and that scared Rachel to death. _Fuck_. Rachel looked at the animal her friend seemed to have formed a bond with and spoke directly to it. "We'll follow you."

The cat dipped his head as if agreeing with the women.

Rachel leaned down and tried to pick up Quinn, but was struggling with all the dead weight. She was so focused on trying to situate the blonde, that she didn't notice the animal had softly padded over towards and rubbed it's side against her waist. Rachel screamed and dropped the warrior. Quickly, the animal managed to duck it's own body under the falling woman so that she was laying over it's back. Rachel clutched her chest.

"Rach it's ok. It just wants to help you…" Brittany stated quickly watching the scene play out. She had seen the animal approach Rachel, but knew it wouldn't do anything. Or at least she hoped but she'd never tell her friend that.

Rachel carefully placed her hand on the side of the large animal. The fur was surprisingly soft and fine. She could feel the animal's midsection vibrate as it purred. Rachel moved the blonde's legs over the animal so had she been sitting, she'd be straddling it. She couldn't do much about the wings unfortunately. The animal moved its body to look at the two women expectantly.

Brittany lifted one of Santana's arms over her shoulder, and Rachel rushed to her friend's side to take the other arm. The animal turned and started walking in a seemingly random directly at a slow pace.

Rachel and Brittany, with the Latina between them, slowly moved to follow the beast. After a couple minutes Rachel huffed from the strain and spoke in short spurts.

"So…what…do you think….it is? Boy or girl?"

Brittany who was doing only fairing slightly better than her smaller companion replied "I'm not sure….boy?" The animal growled low in it's throat and looked back at the two humans.

Rachel giggled, "Girl….totally a girl. I think we should name her Nala…get it?" she looked over at her friend.

Brittany laughed, "Seriously? After what we've been through over the last hour you want to think of The Lion King?"

Rachel pouted, "…all you had to say was you didn't like it…"

"Hey, what do you think about Nala?" Brittany spoke up to their guide.

The animal purred loudly causing the women to chuckle. Neither woman really questioned why exactly they were talking to a strange animal in a strange world. By now they had learned to just roll with the punches.

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><p><strong>As always, <span>Reviews<span> are magic.**

**Stay tuned!**


	11. Chapter 11

**Here's the next chapter guys. I hope you like it!**

**Review please :)**

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><p>The group traveled for half an hour before being lead down a small trail that lead into a cave. As the women took careful steps down into the hole in the ground, the temperature dropped at least twenty degrees. The humans sighed in relief as their hot skin cooled down. Nala easily managed to maneuver around the larger lava rocks but made sure to go slow for her two followers. When volcanic lava had flowed freely at one point in the past, the top layer of lava cooled down and solidified which left the lava fluid beneath the solid rock. Thus, the tube like cave was formed.<p>

Rachel and Brittany tightened their grip on Santana and carefully maneuvered the rubble at the entry to the cave. Once at the bottom of the pile of debris, the tunnel smoothed out and flattened. Nala lead the women into a maze of winding tunnels. Fortunately, the ceiling was littered with large gaping holes, letting light illuminate the darkened cave. Eventually, the women could make out a faint light at the end of another winding tunnel.

Warm heat swarmed towards the women. The tunnel opened up into a larger cavern in which a large fire burned in the center. The cavern looked to be inhabited by someone. Absentmindedly, Rachel noticed a small stream in the back of the chamber. Nala continued into the room nonchalantly and carefully dropped Quinn onto a pile of straw and cloth. She then stood up and let out a couple low grunts. Instantly, sound could be heard rattling it's way in from another opening across the cavern.

"My friend, you have brought me some guests I see," a scratchy voice crooned. It's owner stepped further into the firelight and revealed an older woman in tattered clothing. Rachel guessed her to be at least in her seventies, but then again she might not be human. _But she speaks English_.

"Hello, we did not mean to disturb you…but my friends and I we need some assistance" Rachel spoke clearly shifting the tan woman's arm around her.

The old woman cocked her head, uncannily like Nala, and beckoned them to enter further. Rachel and Brittany closed the distance between the two. The woman eyed them speculatively.

"I can see. Very well, place her next to her companion over there," she pointed next to Quinn. Quickly the girls unloaded their burden carefully next to Quinn.

Brittany looked up at the old woman, "You speak English?"

The woman chuckled and hobbled over next to the fire where she had a pot brewing something, "Child, I speak many many languages."

Rachel tapped her foot uneasily, _flying monsters, crazy smart large dinosaur cats, and a crazy old lady. Just perfect._

"Excuse me, I don't want to offend your hospitality but who are you?" Rachel asked. She didn't know how much more of this she could take.

The lady ladled some liquid substance into a wooden bowl and shuffled back to the women, "I am a very old woman who knows many things. One of which is that your friends are in dire need of help. Help that I can provide. Which is why I brought you here,"

Rachel and Brittany were dumbfounded.

"Well, don't just stand there. Help an old woman," the woman chided them while motioning them to sit Santana up. Brittany quickly helped in holding Santana in a sitting position. The old crone gripped the tan woman's jaw and tilted her head back while pouring a small portion of the bowl into her mouth. She waited till she swallowed most of it before adding more. A few more repeats of that and the bowl was empty.

The crone set the bowl down and wiped her hands on her old brown skirt, "That should help her heal a bit faster. All she needs is some sleep to recover from the blood loss. Other than that, she should be up and about. Now the other one is a different story,"

Rachel shook her head, "Wait, what did you just give Santana? And what did you mean you brought us here? And just what the hell is going on here…" Rachel finished with a huff.

The older woman raised a white eyebrow and clucked her tongue, "Patience is not something you are well with are you, young one? I gave your friend Santana a sleeping potion with a hint of salgers root. It will enhance her natural ability. She will be fine. It's your protector that will be a problem…"

"Wait, wait….how do you know she's my protector?" Rachel asked beyond befuddle.

The woman looked to Brittany, "Is she always this way?" the blonde merely shrugged in agreement. She was just beyond happy that Santana would be fine.

Rachel fumed.

"Calm yourself. All will be told when the time is right. Now what I will tell you is this….that one…"she pointed to Santana "…was trying to access her realm. However, she underestimated how much energy she had left. I was able to pull you here, to my world. Unfortunately, she had lost too much blood to make the travel. I sent out my friend to find you," she nodded her head towards Nala. The big cat just stared at the trio of women panting.

"Ok. Now what can we do for Quinn?" Rachel asked anxiously.

The woman was mildly surprised at how easy the brunette was taking the news. She looked to Brittany again, "Is she always this demanding?" another shrugged nod was her answer. She shifted over and leaned over Quinn's body. "Quinn is in much more trouble than your friend. She is alive, don't fret…however there is not any medicine that I can give that will heal what is wrong with her."

"What exactly is wrong with her?" Brittany asked before Rachel could.

"Put simply, when she fell she broke her back. No, that's not a good enough answer. She shattered her spine and broke most, if not all, the bones in her wings. Frankly, I'm surprised she's still breathing." The old woman shook her head sadly.

"There has to be something we can do! Jesus," she began ticking things off on her hand, "over the past couple days I've nearly died, almost got mauled, got my home destroyed, nearly died _again_, met a large cat who thinks like a person, and I've met you who gave that woman.." she pointed to Santana, "some type of magic potion. And you're telling me….telling _me_ that there is no god damn thing you can do for Quinn?"

"Now listen here, child" the old woman's voice hardened slightly, "I did not say there was nothing to do for her. I just stated that there was nothing that I, specifically, could do for her. Not only is her body broken, but her spirit has buried itself within her own mind."

Rachel's heart felt so damn heavy in her chest. This was all her fault. If only she hadn't been chosen or special or whatever the hell she was then Quinn would be up and about being a pain in someone else's ass. Rachel took a deep breath and took a seat next to Quinn, holding onto her hand.

"Where can we find someone to help her?" Rachel whispered, unconsciously rubbing her thumb in tiny circles over the blonde's skin. The elderly woman noted the action out of the corner of her pale eye.

"It's not the trouble of finding this person. We already have them. It's whether or not they can allow themselves to help her,"

Rachel was tired of all these riddles, "Just…what do you mean?"

"Rach, she means you. It's not me, and it surely isn't an animal so it has to be you." Brittany spoke up speaking matter-of-factly.

Rachel felt like hitting her head against a wall. None of this made any sense, and none of this was helping Quinn at all. "Can someone just tell me? I'm sick of guessing here…"

"Your friend is correct. You are the only person that can help that warrior," she pointed at Quinn, "I know exactly what you are and I know what you are capable of doing. I foretold their people about your birth and your power. The only question here is whether you want to throw away all your preconceived notions of what is possible and what isn't to help her."

The brunette rubbed her hands over her face and groaned, "Why is it always me?"

"Because, when you're special you have to deal with a lot more responsibility then those around you. Now, are you willing to do what needs to be done?" the woman asked.

"Of course," Rachel didn't even have to think about it.

The woman smiled, showing what was left of her old yellow teeth, "Excellent."

"Who are you?" the petite brunette asked.

"My given name does not translate well into your language. You may call the The Seer," the woman stated simply.

"Ok, Seer, what do you want me to do?"

"First, I will need you to drink something. Do not ask what is in it, you will not want to know. And if I wanted you dead then you would be by now." The Seer said briskly as she hurried her small body towards several shelves, carved into the rock, lined with tiny vials. With a triumphant grin, the Seer returned with two vials in hand. She grabbed another wooden bowl and mixed the substances as the two women watched carefully.

After she was finished she rejoined Rachel next to Quinn. "What I mixed is not what will help Quinn. This is what you need in order to be in the correct state of mind to help her. The rest will be up to you. Drink," she handed the bowl over.

Rachel sniffed and almost gagged. The liquid smelled like llama piss added with a hint of raw onion that's been marinating for a day and a half in the sun. The brunette pinched her nose and tilted her head back. She gulped down the liquid like a shot of liquor. She had to fight her own instinct to gag as it burned it's way down her throat.

"Very good. Now, give me your hand.." Rachel reluctantly reached over and handed the Seer her hand. Out from under her robes somewhere, the old woman produced a tiny blade and sliced cleanly across the brunette's palm. Rachel winced at the sharp pain as blood started to trickle out. Quickly, the Seer did the same with Quinn's palm and slammed their two palms together mixing the blood.

Rachel couldn't help but think of how unsanitary this all was.

"The mixing of your bloods will help speed along the process. But you need to willingly share your gift with your warrior. In a minute, you will pass out. You must traverse the corners of your mind and find what makes you so sought after. Only then will you be able to willingly give a part of that up to help Quinn." The Seer preached.

Rachel simply nodded. Nothing made sense anymore. The only thing she could focus on was helping Quinn; no matter what cost. She started to feel dizzy and lightheaded.

"How….how do I know…what I'm looking for?" Rachel's vision was blurry and she her equilibrium was shot to hell. She didn't even know if she was looking in the right direction anymore.

"You will know when you find it," The Seer said just as Rachel's head slumped over resting on Quinn's chest. The old woman neglected to tell either girl the ramifications of what could possibly happen if Rachel succeeded, but she didn't think her warning would be heeded anyways.

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><p><strong>Who's ready for Rachel's dream sequence? Also, is anyone interested in seeing what's going on with Quinn's mind? I'll consider writing it if anyone is interested.<strong>

**Review please :) Thank you 3**


	12. Chapter 12

**I reached over 100 reviews! :O :O dream come true! No really...lol**

**Ok, so I kicked some major ass yesterday and managed to write two chapters. Lucky for you all...I decided to mash them both together into one chapter. Thus, you'll get both scenes instead of me leaving you on a cliff hanger.**

**I hope you all enjoy it! It was kinda difficult for me to write, but the characters started writing themselves. I'm just along for the ride. Enjoy :) Review's are gold.**

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><p>You know that moment when you feel like you should be doing something, but no matter how much you try and remember…the further and further away it falls from your grasp? That's how Quinn felt. She remembered looking up at the night sky, the stars twinkling and winking at her, before everything went dark. Who knew oblivion could feel so peaceful?<p>

Quinn's face was getting hot. Already, she could feel beads of sweat beginning to form at her hair line. She brought up an arm and wiped away the moisture. Cautiously the blonde crackled open her eyes. As she suspected would happen, a bright light pierced through sending a jolt of pain into her retinas. She squeezes them shut with a moan and rolled over onto her hand and knees. Beneath her fingers she could feel and smell fresh grass. Sure enough hazel eyes confirmed her senses. After giving her eyes a moment to adjust, Quinn looked around and noticed she was in the middle of a meadow. Tall Ash trees littered the area along with smaller shrubs and bushes. The one thing Quinn noted was that the air smelled so _clean_.

She slowly got up onto her two feet and swayed slightly. She looked down and noticed she was in her full armor, but wasn't her tunic gold? Not green? She shook away the thoughts. Not knowing where she was, she just started walking north. Quinn didn't bother to even think about using her wings, when that was obviously more practical.

She walked through the grassy plain, and past the trees. Quinn frowned, _wait….shouldn't that have taken longer_? She turned and looked behind her and saw nothing but Ash trees so thick the sun was completely shut out. Her instincts told her to keep walking so she did just that, ignoring the nagging thought in the back of her mind.

Eventually the blonde came across a small mountain stream. She kneeled down and took a sip of water. The cold water cooled down her hot body. Behind her she heard a twig snap and reflexively reached behind her to whip out her sword. Her hand grasped at nothing but air. Another twig crackled. Quickly, Quinn glanced over her shoulder and sure enough…her sheath was empty. _Figures._ Hazel eyes scanned around the river bed looking for anything she could use to defend herself.

She heard a horses neigh and ducked behind a large boulder she hadn't seen before. She peaked over the side of the rock. A lone rider was on top of a chestnut mare, leading it towards the stream. However, something spooked the horse causing the rider to get thrown off with a sickening crunch. The horse stomped around before calming down and taking a drink of the cool water.

Quinn revealed herself and slowly eased her way to the fallen rider. The face was concealed with a dark cloak, but Quinn could tell that it was a female.

"Miss, are you ok?" Quinn's husky voice asked.

The rider leaned up on her elbow and used the other had to pull her cloak down off her face. The woman had to be one of the most beautiful women Quinn had ever seen in her life. Her eyes were as deep as an ocean framed by curly black hair, her skin was pale but looked incredibly soft, and her lips her full and pink. Quinn's heart skipped a beat.

"I…I think my leg is broken…" the soft voice whispered laced with pain.

Quinn frowned, "May I take a look at it?" at the nod, she carefully moved the woman's skirt up the leg that was at an odd angle. The blonde winced seeing the bone pushed up against skin that was already ugly shades of purple and yellow. It hadn't broken through the skin, but Quinn worried trying to reset it from the risk of pinching any of her nerves causing permanent damage.

She grabbed onto the injured leg gently and closed her eyes trying to see the woman's energy. She took a calming breath and slowed her heart beat. The injury site glowed hot in Quinn's mind. The bone had broken cleanly in the middle of her left tibia. Suddenly, Quinn felt a jolt of her own energy rush out from within her and into the girl's body. She watch, slack jawed, as her own mana mixed perfectly with the girls and molded around the broken bone. Slowly, the muscles flexed pushing the bone back into alignment and aided the bone marrow in reforming. Quinn let go of the woman as if she had been burned. She stared at the woman wide eyed.

"Who…who are you?" Quinn asked breathing heavily.

The woman ran a hand down her healed leg and looked over at Quinn with electrifying blue eyes, "My name is Sonya, thank you for the help. How did you do that? Are you a healer?"

Quinn floundered for an answer, "I..uhh…maybe…yes. Yes, I'm a healer."

_Sonya…why does that sound so familiar?_ Quinn was starting to get frustrated with her own thoughts. They were all jumbled and it was getting increasingly difficult for her to focus on one idea long enough to think it through. However, something told her that this _Sonya_ was important. As if she knew this woman. On the other hand, Quinn was quite certain she had never seen this gorgeous woman in her life.

The warrior stood up and offered her hand down to the prone woman. Sonya smiled and took the offered arm. Instantaneously, electricity traveled up Quinn's arm and into her body. Still, her warm smile never wavered.

Sonya brushed her skirt off, "Thank you so very much. I don't know what you did…" she trailed off when she looked up at Quinn. Quinn raised her eyebrow in response.

"Excuse me, but….oh my….you have wings? What are you?" Sonya stated in an awed voice.

"I…it's complicated. Just know I'm not here to hurt you," Quinn said as she ruffled her wings anxiously. The more Quinn thought about it….she didn't really know _what_ she was either nor what she was doing there. The fogginess in her brain was increasing.

Sonya nodded, "For some reason, I do believe you. I….may I ask your name?"

"Quinn"

"Quinn. Do you think that you could escort me back to the castle?" Sonya asked shyly with a blush.

Quinn shook off her confusion and focused on this lovely woman in front of her. If she wasn't mistaken….she might be interested in the warrior. Quinn smiled bashfully and offered her arm, "It would be my honor to do so. If I may….what were you doing out in the woods by yourself?"

Sonya shrugged, "I just wanted to get out. No matter what the peasants think, castle life is not all what it's cracked up to be. There's always this or that to do. And mother…mother is always so strict about everything her daughter does."

Quinn listened intrigued, "Perhaps your mother is only worried for you and she has no other way to express her love?"

Sonya stopped and looked up into hazel eyes. A small smile graced her lips, "Full of surprises you are. From your attire, I would not expect you to speak like a poet…do you write?"

Quinn blushed, "My apologies Miss. I am no poet, but I do know for certain a few things in life. One of which is that Love is a very powerful force in existence."

"You speak as if you know this from personal experience. Have you ever been in love Quinn?" Sonya asked while eyeing her taller companion carefully.

Quinn paused to think. Her first instinct was to say no, but the word wouldn't come out of her mouth. It seemed to be stuck in her throat. The more Quinn tried to access her memories, the more they seemed out of her reach. This entire situation made Quinn's body on high alert, but she still didn't seem to know why.

"I….I don't know." She answered honestly.

Sonya raised a dark eyebrow, "I suppose it is difficult knowing when you are in love. Sometimes….you don't know what's really in front of you. Are you _in_ love? Or do you just love them? Perhaps you have to look past what you see on the surface…and dig deep to find something truly special." She gave Quinn a knowing look.

Quinn shifted uneasily and flapped her wings slightly, "You speak as if you are in love. Are you?" Irrationally, Quinn felt slightly upset.

Sonya smiled slightly, "The person I loved was taken from me a very long time ago. We had only just begun our romance when tragedy struck. I'm afraid I'm lost to her now. But do not worry, I am still in love with her to this day. As you said, Love is one of the strongest forces in the natural world."

"Her?"

Sonya smiled and winked, "I've always fancied the ladies in waiting a lot more than my suitors."

Quinn couldn't help but chuckle herself, "You are unlike so many people I've met before."

"Well, I would like to believe I am special!" Sonya said with a lazy grin.

Quinn laughed and patted her arm gently. "Tell me, how far we from your home?"

Sonya sobered, "We are nearly there. We just need to head through that," she pointed towards a rough trail leading into a thicket of old trees. Darkness consumed the trail making it difficult for Quinn to see through it to the other end.

"Are you sure? Is there no other way around….it's awfully dark…" Quinn muttered uncertain.

Quinn didn't notice how Sonya's eyes became serious, "Yes. That is the only way to the castle. We cannot avoid it. Trust me, all will turn out as it should in the end. Sometimes, you have to push through dark and scary places in order to reach something you never knew was possible."

Quinn eyed the woman warily, but her honor wouldn't let her back down from a promise, "Very well. Let's get through this shall we?"

Sonya smiled and began walking onto the new trail. She hoped Quinn would be ready for what awaited them. She _needed_ her to understand.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Brittany wrung out a wet cloth in a bowl of water and dabbed at Santana's forehead gently. The Latina had gotten a fever, but the Seer had insisted that she would be fine. The fever was just a side effect of the concoction she had given the woman. The Seer stuffed an herb mixture into Santana's shoulder wound and wrapped her shoulder up with fresh clean linens. After the Seer had finished, Brittany got to work on cleaning up the Latina's body with a wet rag. That was when she noticed the fever.

The old woman watched the careful movements of the blonde, "You care for her very much I see…"

Brittany nodded quickly, "Yeah I do. Maybe it's the stress of this situation that's making me cling to her…but sometimes I just feel like there's something calling me to her. It's crazy I know…" she trailed off.

The Seer shook her head, "You are no more crazy than I am old. And I'm quite young for my age!"

Brittany raised her eyebrow wryly.

"You do not believe me, but I can tell you I have been alive for over a millennia. There's hardly anything I haven't seen in all my days. Are you hungry?" she woman asked as she moved back to her fire pit, "I can make us up some stew"

The blonde didn't want to seem ungrateful, "Yes, I am. Thank you,"

The old crone waved her off, "Do not worry your head about it. I like entertaining guests…the few that I have, " she tossed Nala a large chunk of meat with surprising strength, "Come sit with me, I'd like talk with you if I could. Your warrior will be just fine over there."

Brittany tossed the rag into the bowl and set it down next to Santana. She brushed her jeans off and sat herself carefully down at an ancient looking table. The wood creaked and the blonde blushed, "Sorry…"

The Seer chuckled, "They won't break trust me. If I've been sitting in them for years…I think they can hold your weight. So tell me…what do you feel for your friend?"

Brittany rubbed her shoulders nervously, "Well, I don't know. I just met her a couple days ago. What can I really feel?"

"You can't control your emotions, and during dark times like these? I would hope that you'd grab ahold of anything that gives you hope for the future…" a bushy white eyebrow rose in a questioning manner.

What the Seer told Brittany, reminded the blonde about the small conversation she had with Quinn. The other blonde had told her to never lose hope, even in the face of uncertainty. She couldn't think of a time when she was more uncertain than now. Blue eyes raked over the forms of her best friend and Quinn. She couldn't help but think that the two would make a striking couple. She smiled unconsciously remembering the fire she had seen in Rachel's eyes when she wanted to chase after the warrior. _Please, Rachel be safe and find a way._

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Rachel woke gasping for air. She was lying flat on her back staring into darkness. The silence was deafening. The brunette calmed her racing heart and sat up. She remembered drinking the potion, and then everything going dark. The conversation she had with the Seer rushed to the forefront of her mind and she groaned. _I'll know when I see it_ she mocked silently.

She stood up and turned around in a circle. Everything was completely black and she couldn't see anything. The darkness was suffocating the brunette. She needed light. She needed to be able to see her own hand in front of her face. Her heart rate started to pick up and her breathing became erratic.

"You really should calm down." A voice said from the darkness.

Rachel whipped around, "Who's out there?"

"That's easy. I'm you," the voice said from a different direction. Rachel twisted around trying to get a lock on the voice.

"What are you talking about? I'm me…"

"Well….you are inside your mind. There is no one else here but you because this is _your_ mind. I am just a representation of what your inner thoughts are. Ones that even you aren't privy too,"

"So, I'm basically talking to myself?"

The voice chuckled, "Yes. I would say you are."

"Since I've officially gone crazy, can we turn on some lights or something?" Rachel asked as her eyes still struggled to see anything.

"Why are you asking me? This is your mind." The voice laced with humor replied.

Rachel rolled her eyes at herself. Of course her mind would be sarcastic. Still, she listened and thought deeply about having the darkness gone. She opened her eyes and the area was lit up brightly. So brightly, she almost had to shade her eyes. The only problem now was that there was still nothing to be seen. Now it was all pitch white.

"I don't suppose you're here to help me are you?" Rachel asked her mind.

"I'm here to do what you need me to do. Even if you don't know what that is exactly right now."

Rachel sighed, "Ok, can we stop with the riddles now? And…I don't know…can I like see you or something? It really sucks talking to air…" Rachel jumped back with a scream as a carbon copy of herself materialized in front of her. Her doppelganger smiled mirthfully.

"You asked for me…" the copy stated simply with a shrug.

"Yes, but that didn't mean scare the living shit out of me!" Rachel hissed. The copy shrugged nonchalantly.

Rachel sighed, "Now what happens?"

The copy shrugged once more, "I don't know. Why are you here?"

"I'm here to find out what makes me so special" Rachel stated dryly.

"Then why don't you start looking for that?" came the voice as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

Rachel waved her arms around comically, "Does it look like there's anything to be found here? Who would have thought my mind was completely empty?"

The copy snorted, "It's not empty. You just don't know what you're looking for nor do you have any idea what you want. Which is why," she moved her arms around, "there's nothing here but me."

"Fine, I want you to help me find what's special about myself," Rachel demanded irately.

The copy eyed her speculatively, "Do you think you're special Rachel?"

Rachel kicked her foot, "I don't know. I guess I don't really. I'm really quite average."

"These past couple days should show you that you are _far_ more than average. Human nature is a fickle thing to behold. Do you remember when you were in med school and your roommate used your term paper as a coaster after a night of hard partying? Do you remember your reaction?"

Rachel nodded, "Yes, of course. I remember I stayed up till 2am getting that paper written. Ashley came in around 4 and spilled her beer all over the paper. I had a nasty surprise waiting for me when I woke. I…I remember I was so angry, but I tried to dry it off as much as I could before hand writing it again. I barely made it in time for the deadline."

"And do you remember how upset Ashley was about destroying your work?" Rachel nodded, "You forgave her Rachel. And since I am your mind here…I can tell you for a fact that you _completely_ forgave her and don't hold any ill will towards her to this day. Do you remember in high school when you were teased constantly for your perfectionism?"

Rachel nodded slightly, the wheels turning in her head trying to figure out where this conversation was leading.

"You forgave them all. If this had been any other human being…they would not have been so forgiving," the copy started to pace slightly, "Sure, people can say they accept an apology and they forgive someone, but usually there's a tiny thought lurking in the back of their mind that still holds a grudge. You, Rachel, do not have that problem. You are the most forgiving human being in existence."

Rachel snorted, "You make me seem like I'm a Saint. I'm not. I get angry, I curse, and I fight. I'm no angel here."

Dark eyes regarded the young woman, "Yes you do have your vices. But you're missing the entire point here. There is something, _something_, inside of you that prevents you from holding deep seated hate."

Rachel nodded, "So, you're saying that is what makes me…whatever I am?"

An identical smile smirked, "Partially. You're getting there!"

Rachel just leveled her best 'WTF' look.

The copy chuckled, "You can't expect me to do all the work here."

Rachel raised her eyebrow, "If you're me…then technically I am doing all the work…"

The copy grinned, "Touché."

Rachel shook her head, "Ok. So I am forgiving…so what? I have my flaws….but I'm perfectly normal…"

Rachel number two shook her head, "Still stubborn as ever. You are who you are because you are the one person in existence who can balance their flaws and their strengths perfectly. There is not one single other person who can be filled with so much Light, but still be acceptable to Darkness. The way you are now? You can be swayed to either side, with the right persuasion."

Rachel blinked and cleared her throat, "So, this is why a bunch of things are after me?"

"Not completely. Humans all have good and evil deep within themselves. As do you. However, you have never given way to either end of the spectrum. It's not that you are a balance that attracts the forces of Light and Dark. It's what will be released once you choose,"

"I have to choose a side?" Rachel asked in a whisper.

The copy simply nodded, "Yes. Once you choose a side, a power, that even I have no idea what is capable of doing…will be in your hands to do with as you see fit."

Rachel rubbed her forehead, "So I have to tip this 'balance' thing that Quinn told me about? But won't that destroy life as we all know it?"

Rachel's copy shrugged, "I do not know. This has never happened before. If you choose, perhaps the universe will implode in itself killing millions of lives. Or maybe it will do nothing at all."

"….great…that makes me feel loads better…" Rachel said dryly.

"It's not supposed to make you feel better. Those are the facts. However, I will warn you. Good and evil are not always so black and white. You might think the obvious choice is to choose good…but you must consider your decision very carefully. Choose with your mind," the copy winked, "…and choose with your heart. Both will never steer you wrong."

Rachel nodded with a smile, "I never knew I was such a poet," she laughed when her copy blushed slightly, "…Ok….now please tell me how this is supposed to help Quinn?"

The copy clucked her tongue and scratched her arm, "That is a bit tricky. The Witch thought that you could access your power and perhaps transfer some of it over to Quinn. However, she got it wrong. That's impossible. The power is yours to bear and no one else's right now."

Rachel frowned, "So, what happens now? Is there anything we can do for her?"

The copy nodded, "Yes, there is. Listen closely…"

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Blue eyes returned to the old woman, "I feel….very deep things for Santana. Things that I can't explain why I feel them. Things that terrify me, but at the same time bring me so much happiness that I feel like breaking out in song and dance. It should be impossible. I just met the woman, but I feel as If I'm finally coming _home_ with her. What's even more crazy…is that I think she knows it too. The feeling of having someone communicate with you on such a deep level…that you don't even need words to express the way you feel." She finished with fire in her strong voice.

The Seer smiled, "You feel a lot for the young warrior. You even think you love her?" pale eyes asked while glancing behind the woman.

Brittany pondered for a moment, "I've never felt this way before in my life. What I thought was love, must not have been because what I feel for her is so much stronger than anything I've ever experienced. All my life, I've seen other people get what they wanted. Their happiness; it was always elusive to me. I look into her eyes and see a promise. You ask if I love her? I love her more than I can find the words to explain."

The woman smiled as her ancient eyes twinkled, "I'd say you did a fine job my young friend." She stood up with a groan, "I think…that I will return in several minutes to give you some privacy."

Brittany frowned, "Wait what…?" she jumped, startled when a hand settled on her shoulder. Brittany twisted around to meet Santana's red rimmed eyes.

"I think…you said enough…for the both of us…" Santana croaked out with her dry throat.

Brittany quickly stood up and wrapped her arms around the dark woman, "Oh Santana! I'm so happy you're ok!"

Santana wrapped her good arm around the blonde woman and smiled brightly despite the pain in her head, "So am I, so am I."

After a moment, a tiny voice spoke, "So….you…like heard everything?"

Santana chuckled deep in her chest, "Every word, and boy am I happy I woke up when I did."

Brittany blushed and looked up at Santana, "I meant every word."

Santana nodded, "I know…I feel the same way…" she whispered her eyes searching the blonde's.

Brittany smiled brightly and then leaned in pressing her lips against the tan woman's for the first time. Santana melted into the kiss and returned it gently. Her wings fluttered restlessly as tendrils of shocks ran up and down the large body parts. She didn't want a kiss full of desire…she wanted to give Brittany a kiss of promise.

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><p><strong>So much happened! What are your thoughts? Who's ready to save Quinn from herself?<strong>

**Review please!**


	13. Chapter 13

**Hey everyone! I'm glad to see some of you loved the last chapter :) Granted, I had hoped for more reviews on a double post but...what can I do?**

**Here's the next part! Enjoy :) and as always, review please?**

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><p>Rachel raised her eyebrow, "You're sure this will work?"<p>

The copy nodded, "Yes, I'm completely positive. You are the only one that can save her, and I would suggest you hurry to it. Our Quinn's mind might not be as…inviting as yours is."

Rachel chuckled, "Yes, you are the most inviting person ever."

"Hey, I'm you." The copy smirked.

Rachel shook her head, "I know and that's what scares me. How do I leave this place?"

"Again….this is your mind. If you want to leave…then just think it and you'll wake up."

Rachel looked into eyes identical to hers and nodded, "Ok. Although, you are a pain my ass thank you for helping me with this."

The copy shuffled her feet and smiled reluctantly, "Helping you, helps me doesn't it? But you're welcome anyways. Now, go on and find that warrior."

Rachel nodded and closed her eyes concentrating on waking herself up.

The copy watched the brunette and smiled widely. She watched as Rachel's body slowly disappeared. She hoped that the brunette would listen to her heart when the time came. She didn't know it now, but Quinn would be the most important person in her life. The copy slowly disappeared as well settling itself back into the recesses of the brunette's mind.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Rachel gasped and quickly threw her eyes open. Cold hard metal from Quinn's breast plate stared Rachel in the face. She lifted her head and groaned. Chocolate eyes looked around the dim cavern and quickly averted her eyes away from Santana and her best friend. She felt a hint of envy, and that bothered her. She cleared her throat loudly.

At the sound, Brittany detached herself from the warriors inviting lips and ran to Rachel. She leaned down and scooped up her friend in a giant hug smiling.

"Rachel! Did you do it? Did you figure out how to help Quinn?" The blonde asked excitedly.

Rachel nodded and couldn't help but laugh at the other woman's enthusiasm, "Yeah yeah, just….let me down woman!" the other girl complied.

Santana walked over to Rachel and laid a hand on her shoulder; she motioned to the blonde, "Do you know anything about Quinn's condition?"

Rachel looked over at the Latina, "She shattered her spine on the fall, and she's basically in a coma. She's taken safety in her own mind. The Seer allowed me to figure out a way to help her."

"The who?"

"That would be me. It's good to see you up and about. However, I wouldn't doubt that has something to do with a certain blue eyed blonde huh?" The woman cackled as she shuffled back into the room past a napping Nala.

The Latina's eyes shifted to the slumbering large cat and took a half step back, "What the hell is that thing?" she reached behind her starting to take her sword out.

Brittany placed her palm on Santana's chest, "Calm down. She won't hurt anyone," she smiled, "she saved us and brought us here!"

Santana removed her hand away from her sword hilt, "And where exactly are we?" she looked to the strange looking old woman.

"I am The Seer, young warrior, and you are in my realm. You overestimated your strength when trying to open a portal to your world. I was able to snatch your group up and redirect you here before you landed in some awful place." The old woman stated letting the warrior size her up.

Santana's eyes widened, _The Seer? Oh my…_and she quickly tried to kneel to show the woman respect. Although Santana had never met the woman before in her life, she had heard many stories of this mysterious woman and about her great powers. "Forgive me Seer, I did not know whom I was talking to."

The old crone chuckled, "None of that now. Stand up. Let us focus on helping your Commander shall we?" Santana didn't even bother questioning how the woman knew so much. She was a seer after all.

Brittany was baffled, "You know each other?"

Santana shook her head, "No, I just know of her. She's a very powerful woman that's been around far longer than I have. I trust her implicitly."

The Seer turned to Rachel, "Did you find what you needed to find?"

Rachel focused back on her mission at hand, "Yes and no. I had a conversation with myself," she got blank stares, "I know it's weird. But she helped me. She told me what made me special and told me how to help Quinn. But Seer, you were wrong. I can't share my _gift_ with Quinn in order to help her. I have to do something else."

The Seer frowned; it wasn't often that she was wrong. "What do you mean child? What do you have to do?"

"I…well….it's really difficult to explain. I think I just have to do it because I hardly understand what I'm doing. But since I told myself what to do….I trust my body will know. Quickly, Santana can you lift Quinn up and pull off her armor?"

The Latina hurried as fast as she could to follow Rachel's command. She got behind her Commander and lifted her up as gently as she could with her uninjured arm. Rachel and Brittany took care of the strings on both sides holding the plate to her body. Together, they pulled the metal piece off the blonde's body and set it down next to her.

"Ok, Santana you stay there and lift her head up," Rachel ordered as she scooted up next to the prone woman. She lifted her left hand and placed it on the unconscious blonde's forehead. With her right, she kept it interlaced with the blondes; their bloods still mixing. Rachel closed her eyes and relaxed her body.

Santana frowned. She couldn't figure out what the girl was doing. When Rachel closed her eyes Santana's eyes widened. The scene was so eerily familiar because she herself had done this to Brittany a couple days ago. _Impossible! She is not one of us….she can't be able to do this!_ Santana closed her own eyes and dropped her shields. With her physical contact with Quinn, she was able to sense her energy flow. The sites where Rachel's hands connected with Quinn's skin glowed brightly. Slowly and deliberately, tendrils of Rachel's own energy seeped into the blonde's body. It swirled around all the bones that had been shattered. The mixed energies pulled the fragmented pieces back into alignment and sealed them. Santana gasped and opened her eyes. The brunette seemed to be in a trance. None of this made any sense. Rachel shouldn't have been able to do what she had just done. That ability was special to her kind, and from what Quinn told her…it only happens in only one specific situation.

The tan woman bounced her eyes from Rachel to Brittany, and then back again. Brown eyes cleared and her mouth gaped open. _No fucking way…_

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Quinn clutched her hand around Sonya's that rested on her arm. The forest that they had entered was worrying the blonde. For some reason, she felt as if she shouldn't be here, but at the same time a part of her felt this is where she needed to be. She didn't know which frightened her more.

Sonya looked over at the blonde. She could feel the unease rolling off her in waves. "Quinn, you seem worried?"

Hazel eyes met hers, "You aren't? This place…it doesn't seem right at all. It's completely empty…where are the animals?"

Sonya looked around, "Perhaps you are right. But we need to keep going, we're almost where we need to be."

They walked for a few more minutes in silence. Quinn fought to think why this forest unnerved her. Her thoughts were mixed and jumping around spontaneously. She shook her head. Thinking shouldn't be this hard, of this much she knew. Wait…what was she doing again? Protecting someone? No…she was going to the coast…no a…where _was_ she going?

"Where…are we going? I seem to have forgotten…" the blonde asked her companion.

Sonya pulled her to a stop with a frown, "Castle. Do you not remember Quinn?"

The blonde scrunched her face up, "Not particularly….it's becoming difficult to remember."

Sonya cursed and glanced around. They hadn't gone as far as she hoped, but this place would do. She let go of the blonde's arm and turned to face Quinn. She placed her cold hands on both sides of Quinn's face. "Quinn, do you remember who I am?"

The blonde in question blinked, did she remember? "…yes…you are…Sonya?"

"Quinn I need you to focus. You need to fight hard and _remember_ who you are. Everything depends on that love" Sonya insisted, her eyes blazing.

"I don't understand…" came the soft whisper.

"I know you don't….just…do this for me ok? I need you to close your eyes and fight the grogginess. Your life depends on it…you're a strong warrior. You can do anything…remember me!" the black haired woman whispered fiercely. It wasn't time for Quinn to give up.

The blonde heard the fear and anguish in the other woman's voice. It rang deep within her. She closed her eyes as asked. The more she thought of what she had to do, the more the idea was falling through her grasp. _No!_ Quinn frowned. She would not let whatever was causing her body to act this way win. She mustered her reserves of energy she had left and pulled at it with all her might. She screamed and let the energy consume her body and mind.

Sonya held Quinn close as her body slowly slid down to the dirty ground, completely spent. She wiped away her blonde's sweat soaked hair away from her forehead. _Warrior mine_, she thought woefully. Slowly, Quinn's muscles started to twitch and Sonya pulled back with bated breathe.

Quinn took a deep breath and choked. It was as if this was the first breath of fresh air she had taken in a long time. Her mind seemed to be clear and she didn't have difficulties following every train of thought. In fact, she could remember Sonya telling her to break through her fatigue. Hazel eyes rushed open and whipped up to meet blue eyes that haunted her for 600 years.

"Sonya?" she whispered incredulously.

Sonya smiled with tears in her eyes, "Yes, it's me my heart. Do you remember now?"

Quinn couldn't believe what she was seeing, but she remembered it all. She remembered the walk here, talking to Sonya, meeting her by the stream, waking up in an empty field. She remembered fighting two Shriekers off, hoping that Santana would hurry. She remembered falling and hitting the ground with a sickening crunch. The slight moment of sharp pain before darkness engulfed her.

Tormented hazel eyes lifted, "Yes I do…I just don't understand. Where am I?"

Sonya stood up and pulled the confused blonde up with her, "You are inside your mind. Your body is broken, and your mind pulled you in to protect itself. Unfortunately, you don't have much time. You've spent too much time here."

Quinn shook her head, "Wait…how are you here? You can't….you're…" she trailed off. Even after all these years she still couldn't finish the sentence.

"Dead. I know I am," Sonya smiled sadly, "…but I'm not really your Sonya. A part of me is…but I am the memory of the real person. I am what you've kept in your heart all this time, and I'm here to help you."

"Help me? What's happening?" Quinn asked. She was still having a hard time wrapping her head around all this. Furthermore, a headache was forming at the base of her skull.

"Quinn….you're dying. You've spent far too much time in here…eventually you will lose yourself." Sonya noticed the blonde's face contort in pain, "What's wrong?"

"It's just a headache…" the blonde muttered. She didn't really care about that. Sonya was here. _Her_ Sonya was here. Even if it was just a memory.

Sonya frowned, "You're running out of time. I want you to listen to me Quinn. Focus on what I'm telling you."

Quinn nodded through the haze filling her mind once more. She fought it off again, but she didn't know how much more she would be able hold off.

"You have avoided dealing with what happened that day for the last 600 years. I know the guilt you've carried around your shoulders for centuries and I'm here to tell you to let it go. If you don't, you will miss out something so amazing and unique. Are you listening?"

"it was my fault…you…died…" she choked out the word as tears filled her eyes.

Sonya shook her head, "No it wasn't! Can't you see? I was _meant_ to die that day. If I hadn't, you wouldn't be where you are in the living world. Meeting the people you need to meet. The little time that I had with you was a gift that made me the happiest woman in the world. There is nothing, _nothing_ that made me as happy as you did Quinn." She finished passionately.

Quinn sucked in a shaky breath. She wasn't used to being bombarded by all her feelings; feelings that she had taken careful steps to block herself from.

"You don't hate me?"

Sonya smiled lovingly, "How could I hate you? You were the last thing I saw before I died, and that was something I had wished for very dearly."

Quinn wrapped her arms around Sonya and buried her face into her neck. She sniffled and whispered roughly, "I miss you so much. Everyday, I think of you. I do, I promise."

Sonya rubbed the distraught woman's back and smiled, "I know…I feel it. The love we shared is endless."

Quinn pulled back and wiped her face clean of the tears, "It truly is. How do I wake up from here? Maybe if I let myself die….we could be reunited again.."

Sonya shook her head, "You can't do that, love. If you die….that's it. We will never be together again. And besides, I'm not dead anymore. My soul is in another body already. Also, you can't leave here…"

Quinn took a step back, "Wait a second, hold on. What do you mean your soul is in another body and why can't I leave? I'm not dead yet!"

"My soul was put back into the Cycle and resides in another person. I can't tell you who it is, but I'm positive you will find them. As for leaving….you need assistance from the living world to help you and unless someone has found a way in…" she trailed off leaving the rest unsaid.

Quinn doubted anyone would be coming to her rescue. Even if Santana was able to bring her body back to the High Council, no one would know what to do with her. This had never happened before as far as she knew. Without help, of some sort, she was going to die here. Hazel eyes softened and her hand reached out for Sonya's. "If I am to die….then at least you'll be the last thing I'll see."

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><p><strong>There you go :) It wasn't as long as the last chapter but hopefully you all won't mind.<strong>

**Review and let me know what you all thought of this :) Thank you for reading!**


	14. Chapter 14

**Ok, I can explain my hiatus. I actually had this chapter written two months ago, however what I wrote...didn't satisfy me and it bothered me. So I completely re-wrote it. Thus the delay. Plus, add in school and life. So, to my readers, I'm SO VERY SORRY DON'T KILL ME. :D**

**Without further delay, enjoy :)**

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><p>Rachel remembered putting her hands on Quinn, but after that her mind went completely blank. She couldn't hear, see or smell anything. At least until she felt herself falling. Her eyes shot open from the sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. Her eyes saw nothing but darkness before tree limbs flooded her vision. She didn't have much time to wonder why trees where flying past her before she landed with a hard thud.<p>

_Fuck_ Rachel cursed as she groaned. While the fall hadn't been too hard, it still stung the small woman's back. Carefully she rolled over onto all fours and stood up. She turned in a circle observing where she was. She seemed into be in the middle of a forest, but she was almost completely certain she was in Quinn's subconscious. She felt something warm drip down her hand and looked down. The cut that the Seer had made was still there and was dripping towards the ground. _Well, shit. What do I do now?_

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

"Thank you, but I would rather you not die. Not today, not ever," Sonya stated as she squeezed the blonde's hand reassuringly.

Quinn shrugged, "There won't be anyone coming to my rescue. Why should I fight it?"

Sonya dropped her brow, "Why would you not fight for life? Do you not have faith anymore?"

"Faith is a lie…" Quinn snorted, amused.

Sonya frowned, "You don't sound like the woman I knew. You don't even have faith in Love anymore?"

Quinn sighed, "It's not that I don't have faith in Love. I've just been without it for _centuries_. Do you know how lonely that is? Every day I hoped I'd come across your soul once again…but it never happened. I think….I've stopped looking."

Sonya brought her hand up and rested it on the blonde's shoulder, "I can't begin to say that I understand what you went through, but weren't you the one who said Love was one of the strongest forces in existence earlier? Yes, I know you didn't remember….but somewhere inside of you…you still believe it. It's in here," she tapped the side of Quinn's temple, "that's giving you the problem. You don't want to believe in it. You're scared."

Quinn looked away. Sonya had always been able to read her like a book.

The dark haired woman continued on, "You need to free yourself. Let Love touch you again, and you'll find yourself in a beautiful place once more. In here," she pressed her hand over Quinn's heart, "is where you need to unlock yourself. I'm just a memory…I'm not the real thing. If you die, you won't be here with me because I will cease to exist…just as you will."

Quinn didn't want to hear any of this. She couldn't help but be amused at herself for her stubbornness even at the face of death. Here, her true love, was begging her to live and to fall in love again. Quinn took a deep shuddering breath. Why was it so hard for her? The blonde wrapped her arms around Sonya's waist and pulled her flush against her body. "You ask the impossible."

"It's not impossible…you just must let it happen."

A lone tear traveled down a pale cheek. "I don't know if I can…"

"You can," Sonya whispered before standing on the tip of her toes to press a soft kiss on the blonde's lips. Quinn sighed and pressed her lips harder against the brunette's. However, in her mind's eye she imagined a different brunette kissing her. It wasn't Sonya who she held in her arms. She paused, mid kiss, and pulled away from Sonya shocked. _I…no I can't…but she's not...is she?_

Sonya smiled sadly, "See….I told you, you could do it." She looked down at her hands that were slowly becoming transparent.

"Wait, what's happening to you?" Quinn quickly took a step towards the other woman worry etched all over her features.

Sonya began to answer when she paused. She tilted her head to the side before smiling and looking to the left of her. Quinn followed her gaze and dropped her mouth open in shock when Rachel stepped out of the foliage.

Rachel had heard some low talking in the distance, so she had picked a direction and hoped she would find the allusive blonde. She stepped past the tree line onto an old well used trail; sure enough, in the middle stood Quinn looking straight at her. She looked upset. Rachel couldn't keep the frown off her own face.

Quinn whispered disbelieving, "Rachel?"

Rachel took another step towards the other woman, "Yeah, it's me Quinn…"

Sonya smiled and walked near Rachel. She walked around the short brunette sizing her up, "So this is her? The one you were thinking about?"

"Wait, what are you doing?" Quinn asked Sonya.

Rachel frowned, "Quinn, I'm not doing anything but standing here. I'm here to help you…"

Hazel eyes jumped from Rachel to Sonya and then back again. She was confused, "Rachel, you don't see her?"

Sonya let the two women have their little conversation. She looked down at her arm; it was slowly fading away. She didn't have much time left. The more time Quinn spent talking to Rachel, the more she could feel herself being let go. _Finally_ she thought peacefully.

Rachel looked around the open area but saw no one but her and Quinn, "Quinn, I have no idea what you're talking about. It's just you and me here…who do you see?"

Quinn darted her eyes between the two women in front of her and was speechless. What the hell was going on here?

Sonya chuckled and spoke up finally, "She can't see me Quinn. She is not a part of your mind or memory like I am. She can't see something that she has never met or known."

Quinn turned to Rachel who was standing there waiting for an answer, "I…ummm…there's someone from my past, my memories, here with me. I was talking to her."

Rachel raised her eyebrow, "I know you think I don't understand, but I completely get the whole talking to yourself thing…"

"But I'm not talking to my- "

"- It's ok really. Maybe she can help…does she know a way out of here?"

Sonya shook her head when curious hazel eyes met hers, "That is not something that I know how to do. However, I have no doubt your Rachel will find a way to save you." She stepped closer to Quinn and eyed her knowingly, "Your mind sent you here to help protect you. I came here to help you move on from my memory. However, she…" she motioned towards Rachel who was just standing there feeling a bit awkward, "…she's the one who is here to save you. There are still things that I can't tell you. Things that you must figure out on your own…but just know your future is connected to hers."

Quinn was just completely confused. Everything that came out of Sonya's mouth seemed to confuse her more and more. On top of that, a dull throbbing was appearing behind her hyper sensitive eyes.

Sonya took a step away from Quinn and approached Rachel once more, "My time here is done, but remember….I'm not truly gone…just in a new place," Sonya sent a wink to the silent blonde and stepped into Rachel, disappearing completely into the petite brunette.

Quinn looked over at the confused brunette and cocked her head to the side. Brown eyes slowly shifted into blue. Quinn blinked quickly, but when she focused again the blue eyes where chocolate once more. Her hazel eyes trailed all over Rachel's face, as if searching for something. The more she stared at Rachel's face the more she swore she could see Sonya's face reflecting back at her. _Impossible_ she thought before shaking her head causing the image of Sonya to disappear.

"Quinn, does she know a way out?" Rachel asked quietly impatiently.

The warrior grimaced as her headache returned with a vengeance, "No…she said that you would know…"

Rachel sighed, "Why does everyone assume I have the answer?"

"Are you telling me you came here to save me, yet you don't know how to get out of here?" Incredulous hazel eyes pierced chocolate ones.

Rachel scratched her head, "It wasn't like that…I mean…this stuff doesn't come with an instruction manual you know. Saving you…that was kind of an impulse type thing…" she blushed and looked away.

Quinn's eyes softened and she walked closer toward the still woman, "Sorry, that came out wrong. I'm grateful really. I'm sure we can figure out a way out of…" Quinn scrunched up her face and closed her eyes as the throbbing behind her eyes intensified.

Rachel narrowed her eyes at Quinn's facial expressions, "What's wrong?"

"I…just have a headache is all…" the blonde dropped to her knees as one particularly painful pulse exploded in her mind, sending electricity all over her body. Rachel gasped and quickly kneeled down and tried to hold the taller woman up the best she could.

" Just a headache my ass!" the brunette exclaimed, "Don't give me that crap. Tell me what's really the matter."

Quinn struggled to open her eyes, "Sonya said…I've been here, in my head, for too long…"

"And what does that mean?" she asked anyways even though deep down she already knew the answer.

"I'm dying…" Quinn's breathing started to become labored.

Instinctively, Rachel reached out and cupped Quinn's pale cheeks, "Come on Quinn, stay here with me. We can find a way out of here. We just need to hurry, ok?" the smaller woman couldn't stop the fear in her voice even as she tried to reassure her protector.

Defeated Hazel eyes looked up at the brunette and it terrified the smaller woman, "It's ok. Santana can protect you…"

"Quinn, you're delirious. You don't know what you're saying…" tears prickled the back of Rachel's eyes. She swallowed the lump in her throat trying to keep them at bay.

Quinn could feel her heart start to slow down. Naturally, she should be scared but looking up at Rachel…she felt at peace. A part of her realized that it was most likely because Rachel or at least part of Rachel was Sonya, however the other, very large, part realized that she was at peace because it was simply Rachel. Just Rachel. Unfortunately, the blonde knew she wouldn't get the chance to even deal with her hidden feelings for the infuriating human in front of her. That thought alone caused a pang of regret to reverberate in her mind.

"Beautiful…" Quinn whispered in a pain laced voice.

Rachel stopped short and blinked thinking she had heard wrong, "What…"

"You…always been…" Hazel eyes shimmered with warmth before slowly shutting closed. Rachel felt the blonde's body relax and go limp. The blonde's wings dropped with a soft thud and Rachel pulled her into her lap. She didn't even bother wiping away the tears that were now flowing freely down her face.

"Quinn…open your eyes!" Rachel slapped the fallen woman's cheek lightly. Still with no reply, she slapped her a little harder.

"Quinn, come on! You can't leave me like that," she sniffled, "Leave it to you to call me beautiful and die." She chuckled dryly.

She looked down at her hand that was still dripping with blood. She stared at the bright red liquid as it traveled down her forearm before dripping onto Quinn's chest. _Her blood Rachel…mix it with yours!_ A voice that sounded mysteriously like her doppelganger rang in the recesses of her mind. Quickly, she looked around looking for something sharp. Fortunately, she was able to grab a jagged rock. With a quick silent apology to the warrior, she took a deep breath and grabbed Quinn's hand and dug the sharpest edge into her skin, pressing hard until blood started to seep out of the new wound. She quickly pressed her cut palm against Quinn's bleeding hand. Instantly, warmth shot up her injured arm and up her body to her skull. Heat warmed the back of her neck and her equilibrium was shot to hell. She didn't even feel when her body fell backwards to the forest floor.

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><p><strong>Review please? I'd love you forever :) Let me know what you think!<strong>

**I don't know when I'll be able to update next, but hopefully my muse is coming back and I'll be able to crank out another chapter sometime soon. Please hang in there with me :) **


	15. Chapter 15

**Here is your long awaited chapter 14. A special thank you to my dear friend Amber for helping me hash out some details for the rest of this story and inspiring me to write.**

**Thank you to the readers that are still with me. I promise I won't drop this story.**

**Enjoy :) Review please if you don't mind.**

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><p>Something warm and wet was dripping down her forearm. That much she knew. Dark eyes blinked open slowly. A slight high pitch tone vibrated in her ear, canceling out any other sounds. It was suffocating. Her eyes tracked down her clenched hand where blood was dripping down onto the dirty earth floor. A white cloth invaded her vision and she watched, entranced, as it wiped up the bright red liquid before being pressed into her palm. She followed the arm up to meet concerned blue eyes. <em>Brittany<em>.

Rachel closed her eyes, taking a moment to focus. Slowly, she could hear Brittany calling her name, and the fire cackling from further away. She lifted her head up and off Quinn's metal breastplate. The blonde didn't seem any different from when she last saw her. Flashes of green, blonde hair, warm hazel eyes and dark blood zipped across the brunette's mind. However, she was still groggy and none of the memories were clear to her.

"Rachel?" Brittany slowly pressed her hand to her friends' shoulder. Rachel had been out for a good hour, and to Brittany that had felt like a lifetime.

Confused chocolate eyes turned to Brittany, "How," she cleared her throat, "…how long have I been out?"

"About an hour or so, but your wound started bleeding just a couple minutes ago. I'm not sure what caused it to reopen, but I've got some more clean cloth if it's not stopped yet…" Brittany leaned over and grabbed another rag from a pile she had gathered earlier.

Rachel looked back over to Quinn, "What about her? Has she woken up yet?"

Brittany just shook her head silently. They both knew the chances of Quinn recovering now were slim.

She couldn't remember everything, not yet, but she knew Quinn _had_ to get better. After all that Rachel went through, how could she not get Quinn back? _Fuck!_ Rachel frowned. If only she could remember everything, she could figure out what happened and if anything she did helped. At least…she would know for sure if she had failed her protector.

Rachel shook her head; it was pointless. If she could do nothing more, then at least she would be here watching over Quinn, keeping vigil. She sat up and tried to scoot over to the head of the pallet that the blonde was lying on, except dizziness over took her and she had to suppress a groan from escaping past her dry lips.

Still, the old woman heard her. The Seer quickly made a drought for the young woman to drink while Brittany and Santana held onto the brunette so she wouldn't fall over.

"Hey, take it easy…" Santana murmured gently while grasping her frail arm.

Rachel could only nod slightly in acknowledgement.

"You should know better to not move so soon after blood loss," the Seer chastised Rachel as she hobbled over carrying a small bowl, "Drink this, it will help…"

Rachel didn't have any fight in her to disagree. She took the bowl and drank to the last drop.

"What was in that?" Rachel asked trying to get the bitter taste off her tongue.

"I believe it best if you didn't know dear. It's something to help you sleep. You aren't like your companions and you need sleep to heal your body," the woman stated as she moved away and placed the empty bowl on the wooden table nearby.

Rachel's eyes hardened slightly, "Sleep? I won't leave her…Don't move me. I need to stay beside her."

A white eyebrow rose in curiosity, but she remained mute for a moment in contemplation. "Very well, I suppose it may help you relax and not fight the healing process. Santana, if you could, please grab that pile of furs and place them by your Commander?" she motioned somewhere across the cavern where Rachel couldn't see.

Santana stood quickly to the wise woman's bidding. She returned moments later and made a spot for the smaller woman. Rachel scooted over onto the soft layers; already asleep by the time her head hit the floor.

"Seer, that can't be comfortable for her…" Santana insisted eyeing the awkward position Rachel was in.

"Yes, I would agree but your charge has some feelings she needs to work out," she paused and eyed Santana knowingly, "…I would assume she may have some guilt to work through. She most likely blames herself for Quinn's condition and feels a need to never leave her side until she gets better. I honestly do not know if she'll get better though…" she trailed off.

Brittany sighed, "Is there nothing else we can do? I feel so helpless, I'm a doctor! I should be able to help."

"Perhaps if this were a normal situation, your knowledge would be helpful…but this is far from ordinary, child. Only time will tell if she will survive," the old woman croaked out before sitting down at her table. She would need to begin cooking for the evening meal soon.

Brittany walked over to Santana and laced her fingers with the tan skinned warrior, "She'll pull through right?"

At this point, Santana wasn't sure if Brittany was referring to Rachel or Quinn, "I really hope so. She's got a lot of people who care about her…" she rubbed her thumb over the blonde's knuckle and watched Rachel curl her body towards her long-time friend unconsciously.

**XXXXXXX**

Even in her dreams, Rachel couldn't find peace. It wasn't that she could recall what happened, in fact she couldn't, but the _feeling_ shrouded everything else. Pure, unparalleled fear; she couldn't run from it, she couldn't hide from it, she couldn't see it, but she felt it. The hopelessness of the situation was the worst; never feeling as if there would be joy or happiness ever again. As if all the lights in the world went out, in one fell swoop and no matter how hard you tried, no matter how much you squinted to see just a tiny glimmer of _something_…anything…it was just empty.

Never had Rachel felt empty before. It wasn't the trivial feelings of depression that you knew would go away once you had a little time to adjust and think. No, this type settled into your bones with no possible escape; only acceptance.

Yet, accepting was the one thing Rachel didn't want to do. For some bizarre reason Rachel irrevocably knew what was causing this feeling; Quinn. Even while sleeping, she knew that Quinn had yet to wake up or simply make a gesture to show that she would be ok. So Rachel refused to accept that Quinn could be lost because a part of her realized that Quinn was her only hope at surviving this mess her life had become. Another, equally as large, part was angry with the tall woman. Still, Rachel didn't know why she felt that way either. Nothing gave her peace of mind and there was nothing she could do about it.

**XXXXXXX**

After they ate dinner that their gracious hostess made, Brittany and Santana didn't know what to do. The Seer was currently feeding Quinn some light broth left over from dinner and the large feline was napping, quite loudly, in the corner of the cavern. Not wanting to bother the quietness that had invaded the atmosphere, Santana grabbed Brittany's hand and lead her through a maze of tunnels until they reached an opening. She helped Brittany manage the piles of rocks littering the ground.

Once outside, they both inhaled a much needed breath of fresh air. Out here in the open world they were free from the somber mood that penetrated the air surrounding the unconscious blonde. It wasn't that they didn't care for Quinn, they just didn't know what to do and sometimes what you needed was to just breathe. They took a seat on a large flat rock nearby.

Brittany looked up towards the twinkling stars of the night sky. They were comforting. They looked so similar to how things looked on home, if only you ignored the bright blue sphere that tinted everything in a dull blue hue. Troubled blue eyes looked toward her companion only to be met by warm dark irises.

"You miss Earth…" Santana didn't even have to ask; merely state.

Brittany nodded slightly, "Of course, how can I not? Everything seemed so simple only a week ago. Now, I have no idea what tomorrow will bring and I feel as if I contribute nothing. I'm just a burden…"

"That's not true, you have many useful skills…" the dark skinned woman quickly responded.

"You heard the Seer, I have skills that are pointless right now!" Brittany turned her head away, disgust etched all over her features, "…I don't even know how to help my best friend. The only living family I have left."

Santana reached out her hand tilted the blonde's chin back toward her direction. Her gaze warmed further as her thumb lightly wiped away an angry tear as it worked its way down a pale cheek. "You will never be useless. You may not know the right thing to say to Rachel, but just being there for her is the best thing you can do for her right now," she paused to let that information absorb, "…and I'll do everything in my power to help you realize that you are capable of anything. You just need to put your mind to it. Do you understand me?"

The blonde nodded, a smile threatening to break through, "Thank you…"

Santana smiled bashfully, no response was needed.

A moment of silence took over as the women cuddled closer together and let their eyes roam over the barren environment.

"What happens if Quinn doesn't wake up?" Brittany whispered, letting her biggest fear be voiced.

Santana paused. What _exactly_ would happen if that were the case? Never would she have thought that Quinn would be clinging to the last threads of life by a finger…yet here they were.

"I don't know. I suppose duty says I take over protecting Rachel. I promise you…" she looked over to show the blonde how sincere she was, "…I promise I will protect her. And you. No matter what comes at us. Still…I don't want that. She's _my_ best friend…" she finished off in a heartbroken whisper.

In this moment both knew exactly what the other was feeling. It didn't take a special magic, or power, or connection. Both were scared and nervous for the future, but most of all they were terrified of losing the people they cared about the most.

Brittany reached over and placed her hand into the warrior's calloused palm in silent support. "I'm so happy I met you…"

Santana smiled shyly and tilted her head intimately toward the blonde, "…so am I. It almost feels like I've waited a lifetime."

The blonde couldn't help the girlish giggle from slipping past her lips.

A black eyebrow rose in question.

"I'm sorry…It's just…haven't you….you kind of _did_ wait a lifetime?" Blue eyes filled with merriment.

The dark woman just shook her head and rolled her eyes, "Yeah, yeah…"

A loud rumbling sound interrupted the laughing women. Santana jumped up and reached for her sword hilt but was stilled by a light brush of fingertips on her arm.

Brittany grinned and pointed toward the cave entrance they just left, "Don't worry, it's just Nala."

Liquid amber eyes peeked just inside the dark entrance. Once Santana relaxed her stance, the large cat easily hopped up and out of the hole the two women had found. The feline landed with a soft thump and strode toward the friendly tall blonde who she found extremely friendly and kind. She couldn't stop the loud purring as nimble fingers threaded their way through her soft fur.

Still, Santana eyed the beast with caution.

Brittany giggled and whispered into Nala's cocked ear much to Santana's bewilderment.

Not a second later was the beast only inches from her face. Dark eyes widened in panic. The cat could easily bite her face cleanly off. Hot, putrid air brushed against her face. Instinctively, her eyes squinted to protect themselves. However, nothing could help her sense of smell. The cat showed its teeth and licked its front canines with its massive tongue.

Santana narrowed her eyes at the sign of dominance. No way in hell was she going to let an overgrown prehistoric cat dominate her.

Nala snorted at the dark woman's attempt at being fierce. She leaned closer and with her rough, wet tongue licked from the woman's chin to her hairline. Satisfied, she trotted back to Brittany.

Said blonde covered her mouth to keep from laughing at the warrior's incredulous expression.

Warm drool dripped slowly down the brunette's face. Disbelievingly, Santana brought her arm up to wipe the disgusting slime off her face. Her heightened hearing, not that she actually needed it, picked up on the muffled laughter.

"You think this is _funny_? Ohhh…why not let me show you how hilarious it is…" a wicked smile curved its way onto the brunette's face.

Blue eyes widened in panic; it was too late.

Next thing she knew the woman was above her wiping the excess saliva on her cheek. She struggled while screaming trying to escape but it was pointless. With a sigh, she stopped struggling and took her punishment. Still, it was so worth it to see the look on the warrior's face.

"Not so funny now is it?" Santana asked triumphantly.

"It was so worth it," Brittany replied breathlessly.

Santana leaned down and placed a chaste kiss on delicate lips, the drool be damned.

Nala butted her head lightly against the two women sprawled all over the ground. Didn't they know there was some petting to be done?

**XXXXXXX**

By the time Rachel awoke, Brittany and Santana had already fallen asleep. She eyed them a few feet away envious. Her best friend was cuddled into the dark skinned woman's body while being encased between two soft wings. She sat up and looked around but she couldn't find the Seer anywhere. Dismissing that fact, she turned and sat up on her knees to look down at her fallen warrior.

The memories continue to elude her but that could be furthest from her mind. All she wanted was to see deep hazel staring back at her once again. The more she stares at Quinn the more fragile the blonde looked. Where once a powerful, confident warrior stood proudly…a weak, broken woman took her place. Rachel couldn't help but feel guilty.

No matter how hard she tried to help, here she was again feeling as if it all was for not. What will she do without Quinn? She would assume that Quinn was the best warrior available, not to undermine Santana, but still. If Quinn _died_, even the word gives a painful squeeze to her heart, her life would surely be forfeit to whatever the Void wanted.

A light sheen of sweat coated the warrior's forehead. Rachel glanced around and found a bowl filled with water and a white cloth. She drenched the cloth in the cool liquid and dabbed it across the blonde's forehead in a vain attempt to cool her body.

Rachel's brow furrowed in thought.

What if Quinn never wakes up? She doesn't know if she could live with the guilt. If she had never been born, all of this…all the pain…would be gone. No one would be in danger and everyone would be happy. A tear silently streaked down her cheek; she didn't even bother wiping it away.

She hardly knew Quinn, but she knows she could have been kinder. Quinn was only trying to help her and look where it got her. The one person who would literally give their life for her, she treated horribly. Who did she think she was trying to tell Quinn how to do protect her? She didn't know anything about those types of things. If only she hadn't suggested picking up her things, they wouldn't have been out at night and wouldn't have been vulnerable.

It really was all her fault.

Absently mindedly, the petite woman knew she was wallowing in self-loathing but was helpless in stopping it. It was a slippery slope and she falling swiftly.

"Your thoughts are so negative I can sense them miles away," the Seer scolded.

Rachel jumped. She didn't hear the old woman enter. Quickly she brushed a few more tears off her face.

"It's nothing."

"Do not try that with me child. I know better, and so should you. What I find curious is how you believe that will help your protector?" the wise woman asked as she settled her body onto a sturdy wooden chair.

Silence answered her.

"I think, if our dear Quinn is to get better she must feel as if there's a reason to come back to the living. A reason to fight and survive, however, forgive me if I'm being blunt…but your thoughts are doing a horrid job at that," knowing eyes stared into chastised brown, "…I have a feeling that you must feel guilty. Surely, you must feel you inadvertently caused this by being who you are,"

Chocolate eyes met hers in surprise.

"You may choose to believe what you will and at the end of the day only you can decide how things will become, but I can assure you that to that woman lying right there," she gestured to the wounded blonde, "…and those two…" she nodded to the sleeping couple, "…you are not the cause of any of this. I have been around a very long time and I truly believe certain things happen for a reason. You are in the situation you are in because it was meant to be that way. Rachel Berry, you are stronger than you believe and once you realize that…it will do the lot of you wonders. Now, if you excuse me…these old bones do need to rest. I'm guessing you will watch over her till the morning?"

Rachel nodded.

The Seer stood up and made her way to a cot near the fire pit.

Rachel looked over Quinn's features and couldn't help but think how gorgeous the woman actually was. Even the scar that ran vertically down her right eye did nothing but add to the complexity that is her beauty. Strength, grace, endurance, confidence; that's everything that Quinn was, that she is. What the Seer said struck a chord in Rachel. Perhaps, maybe all of this _did_ happen for a reason. She was supposed to meet Quinn. Her thoughts were hung up on that. If it was all for a reason, than maybe Quinn will wake up.

She might always feel guilty but she would try her hardest to help Quinn. To learn from this beautiful woman, to fight for things she believes in. And the only thing she does believe in at the moment is how much she wants Quinn to get better. If that wasn't something worth fighting for then she didn't know what was.

She cares for the warrior; that much is clear. She's entirely invested in Quinn's fate, just as much as she is in her own and perhaps that should bother her, but in this moment…staring at a helpless figure…she's very content with that.

Rachel vowed that she would do everything she could to help the blonde wake up. Whatever it takes, she'd do it. She had things to say to her protector when she woke up and she'd be damned if she was robbed of the chance.

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><p><strong>What did you think? Please review, let's me know how I'm doing.<strong>


	16. Chapter 16

**Another update in the same week? I know weird right.**

**I only got _4 reviews_****on that last chapter and it's really disheartening. Still, I wrote another chapter.**

**Please Review.**

* * *

><p>Four days. Four days, 8 hours and 32 minutes to be exact. Till the moment when Rachel finally received what she had been waiting for.<p>

However, those previous anxiety filled four days worried all parties involved. Rachel feared for Quinn, but everyone else feared for Rachel.

Night and day, Rachel would work tirelessly at keeping watch over Quinn. Whatever Quinn needed, she'd do. If the warrior needed food, the tiny brunette would feed her light broths with the patience of a Saint. Cleaning any spills with ease. It got to a point where no one else could touch Quinn without Rachel's permission or guidance. After a few disastrous events, the others quit trying. Only when the time came that Quinn needed to be bathed did Rachel reluctantly allow Santana to help carry the unconscious woman to the stream in the back of the cavern. Santana held her friends body up while Rachel meticulously scrubbed and cleaned the healing woman.

Quinn's body appeared to be perfectly healthy. Rachel, with the aid of Santana, worked Quinn's muscles through some light exercises and everything seemed to be in working order. Santana further confirmed that Quinn's spinal cord was completely healed and intact. Every sign pointed to Quinn being awake, but she wouldn't open her eyes.

Still, Rachel Berry was nothing but determined. Again, day and night she kept vigil.

Things were bound to reach a boiling point sooner or later.

**XXXXXXX**

Santana was stuck between a rock and a hard place. She just _knew_ that Rachel was Sonya's reincarnated soul, which meant that Rachel was Quinn's one and only soulmate. It only took just over half a millennium for Quinn to get a second chance. However, she can't tell Rachel about it because it wouldn't be her place to say such things. Another issue is that, when Quinn wakes up…how will she react? What if she already knows? What if she doesn't _want_ to know? After all, she was there that horrible day and it still haunts her memories.

None of this takes into account the fact that Rachel is _special_. She's constantly in danger and Santana doesn't know if Quinn could take losing her again. Sometimes Fate just isn't fair.

All of these troubling thoughts and feelings keep swirling around inside the tan skinned woman's mind. Needless to say, she suffered from numerous headaches. Even worse, she can't talk to Brittany about the whole mess.

_Brittany_.

That's an entirely different matter. Now that she thinks about it…her friend, she doesn't even know what to exactly call their relationship at the moment, has been acting very strangely. The blonde would zone out and stare into space; sometimes at very inopportune times. At first, the fiery woman dismissed it as the blonde coping with stress, but the occasions kept happening more frequently and at this point Santana is just plain worried.

Days like these, the warrior wished she was still in the training pits fighting her way one opponent at a time into mindless oblivion. Those were fun times.

Speaking of the certain gorgeous woman, Brittany was currently walking straight towards her with purpose. Black wings fluttered nervously.

Santana tilted her head in question when Brittany stood silently in front of her.

Brittany shuffled her weight from one leg to the other, "I…I wanted to ask you a favor. You can refuse, but you said you'd help me…"

The woman had a point and Santana just nodded affirmatively so Brittany would continue.

"I want you to teach me how to use a sword," Brittany said softly while chewing on her fingernail nervously.

Thin black eyebrows rose in surprise, "What?"

"I've been thinking about this. A lot actually. And…I really want to be able to do something to help. I can't do much of anything but if I can fight…I can help protect…the things that I love," she ended in a whisper giving the warrior a pointed look.

Santana sighed and stood up from the stool she had been sitting on. She stretched out her spine and ruffled out her wings. "I can't argue with your logic, but if you choose to do this…everything changes…do you understand? I mean…do you _really_ understand?" she scrutinized the tall blonde.

"I do. It wasn't easy for me to decide this, but I want to learn."

"You've always wanted to save lives…ever since you were a small child right?" Santana asked lightly.

Brittany nodded.

"If you pick up a sword, you will automatically become a threat in the eyes of the enemy. They see you pick up that weapon and they'll do _everything_ in their power to stop you; to kill you. You'll be going from saving lives, to taking them away," she paused to let that sink in, "…these aren't human lives so it may be easier, but it's still brutal and nasty. Can you do that?"

Brittany looked down in thought. Could she do as Santana asked? She'll be in more danger, but at least now she'd have a fighting chance instead of being a sheep ready to be slaughtered. Brittany winced; okay that wasn't the best analogy.

"I think that no matter what happens from now on I'll be in danger. If you help me, I'll have a small chance at defending myself. When it comes down to it, I will protect my family…no matter what I have to do. That I can promise, and I can't stress to you enough how much I _need_ to be able to help…please….Santana…" blue eyes pleaded.

The idea of Brittany fighting bothered the dark woman. Not because she doesn't want her to learn, but because it will make her a target and she can't lose Britt. However, she has to respect the blonde's decision and prepare her the best she could. She wasn't the best weapons master for no good reason.

"I do believe that you are in some serious luck. The best weapons master our world has to offer…at your service," Santana grinned mischievously, and mock bowed at the waist; flaring out her massive ebony wings.

Brittany laughed and rolled her eyes, happy to have the heavy mood broken by the other woman's antics. "A little cocky don't you think?"

The Latina gasped, "Me? Cocky? Never," she winked.

Brittany snorted and gave the dark woman warm embrace, "Thank you, it means a lot."

"I promise I will teach you to the best of my ability. You _will_ be able to defend yourself by the end," Santana swore.

**XXXXXXX**

Rachel was only mildly surprised to see Brittany and Santana fighting with wooden swords. She assumed the Seer provided those handy practice sticks. Who knows what else the old woman has stashed around in these caves? A part of her was actually jealous at what her best friend was doing, _shouldn't she have the opportunity to learn?_ Be the sane part of her mind reminded her that she was preoccupied with a certain unconscious individual.

Worried eyes looked over her charge. Rachel wasn't stupid, she knew the others were worried about her behavior but why couldn't they understand what she was trying to do? Quinn had to get better; for all their sakes.

Loud clunks of wood-on-wood drew her attention back to the sparring duo.

"You're picking up the footwork fairly easily," Santana said as she blocked one of the other woman's thrusts, "…do you dance?"

Brittany grunted out a response, "Ballet for several years. Then I stopped and focused on med school, but I freestyle when the mood hits," she brought her arm down trying to slice down on Santana's left shoulder.

The warrior side stepped and blocked easily.

"It's similar to dancing. The balance must be there. Keep your center of gravity low to the ground, it will help you to perfect your movements," she pressed forward sending the blonde into a defensive stance, "…still…you're holding your sword too hard. All it takes is a twist of the wrist," she demonstrated, "…and you'll be disarmed," Brittany's wooden sword was sent flying out of her grasp.

The blonde gasped trying to catch her breath, "How…are you not sweating at all?" she wheezed out. Here she thought she was actually in good shape, oh how this was proving her wrong.

"Years of practice," she gave the woman a break and walked over to pick up the dropped weapon. She handed the sword to Brittany hilt first, "Now this time I want you to grasp the hilt lightly. Only use your thumb and your first two fingers to add pressure. The harder you grasp it, the less your mobility becomes which allows you to become vulnerable to attacks."

Brittany wiped the sheen of sweat off her forehead with her forearm and grabbed the sword like Santana instructed.

"Make the sword a part of your arm. By doing so, you'll use the large muscles in your shoulder and your arm won't get so tired so quickly," Santana took her stance and waiting for her opponent to do the same.

Several strikes and parries later, the blonde's sword was sent flying once again.

Santana grinned, "That wasn't so bad. It took me longer to do it that time."

Brittany grumbled incoherently under her breath and went to retrieve the fallen weapon. Santana just smiled and waited patiently.

Again they swapped blows but this time Santana took every opening she was given, to hit the woman lightly on body parts unprotected. Now that Brittany was able to hold her sword more securely, she needed to be aware of the gaping holes she had created in her defenses.

"Once you learn to hold the sword correctly," she tapped the blonde's unprotected right shoulder, "…you'll be able to block. Block a head attack by moving your sword into a horizontal position," she demonstrated and allowed the blonde to block it, "…protect your shoulders with the sword tip up and protect your midsection with the tip down," she once again demonstrated the attacks but this time in succession. Brittany barely had time to block the strike to her gut.

"Always remember to keep your eyes on your opponent. Most opponents will give away their intended strike with their eyes. It may be a twitch or a slight glance, but never take your eyes off them," she side swiped towards the woman's left thigh but Brittany was ready for that attack. Mid-swing she redirected the attack to slice down on the blonde's head only to be met by the blonde's sword hilt that locked onto hers and allowed her sword to be swung around and away from the blonde's body. Quickly, Santana flicked her wrist and brought the wood back and lightly tapped the blonde's right leg.

Brittany sighed disgusted with herself and stepped back, "Fuck! How am I supposed to learn these moves when I keep making myself open to different attacks?"

"Hey, don't be so hard on yourself…" Santana rested her weight on her hip and held the practice piece by the hilt, resting the dull point on the ground. "…you're doing just fine. You actually blocked two of my hits, but you let your growing confidence at succeeding get in the way and you left yourself open. You can't let any type of emotion get in your way while fighting. It makes you sloppy, but that's something that takes years to learn. I still make those mistakes."

It didn't matter what Santana said, Brittany was still disappointed in herself. She took a deep breath and swept the loose strands of hair off her sticky face, "It's still frustrating! I go to the gym four days of the week and I do heavy cardio and weights. But this? This is killing my body and I thought I was in _such_ a good shape. And then I see you, and you're just standing there barely breaking a sweat. And I keep making stupid mistakes!"

The Latina frowned and stepped forward, "Really, don't be so hard on yourself. You can't learn this overnight. It takes daily practice. I can even show you some techniques to strengthen your upper body. Listen…" she paused and held out her hand palm up, "…why don't we just wrap this up for today and start again tomorrow. Take a shower and relax, it will do us no good to continue in this mood." Brittany reluctantly handed over her sword.

The blonde still had an irritated look on her face as she turned away and walked toward Rachel and Quinn. With a loud huff she dropped down into one of the wooden chairs nearby.

Santana squinted her eyes trying to decide if maybe she should go over there and try and make things better. In the end, she decided to let the blonde calm down on her own. She grabbed the two practice swords and left the cavern to give the girl some privacy.

Rachel heard the entire exchange but was trying her hardest to stay out of it and not comment. Personally, she thought the blonde was being _way_ too hard on herself but she knew her sentiments would not be taken well at the moment.

An awkward silence descended upon the two. The only sound was Brittany's heavy breathing from the demanding exertion.

Rachel fumbled for something to do. She fell back on one of the actions that she had repeatedly done over and over again during the past four days; wiping Quinn down with a cool cloth. She reached down for the ever present cloth and bowl of cold water.

Brittany narrowed her eyes at the action. She doesn't know if it was the frustrating lesson she just had with Santana, or the fact that for the past few days she's been so _desperate_ to help Rachel…only to have her best friend refuse her, but she feels like she's about to snap. For days everyone has been tip toeing around the little brunette, worried they might set her off or disturb her in any way. Meanwhile, she's had to stand around and watch dark shadows creep up under once lively brown eyes and see the tiny woman drop several pounds from not eating correctly. Her cheek bones are much more prominent now than they were two weeks ago. She's finally had enough of just standing idly by.

"Stop it Rachel," Brittany lashed out.

Rachel visibly flinched and whipped her head around to face her best friend. Confusion colored her features, "What?"

"Stop what you're doing…"

"—I'm not doing any—

"—yes you are! You think wiping her down is doing any good? Well, let me tell you something…it's not!" Brittany jumped up from the stool, her normally pale skin starting to become flushed.

"Now wait a second. Don't you _dare_ tell me what will and won't help! I'm the one that went into her mind and tried to help her!" dark eyes blazed dangerously.

"Oh _please_…you can't even remember what happened!" Brittany started pacing while pointing her finger accusingly at Rachel, "You think I don't see what's happening to you? How you don't eat, you hardly sleep! You haven't seen yourself, but I see it every single day and it pains me because I have no idea how to help you!" Brittany groaned loudly in frustration.

Rachel's defenses quickly shot up, "I haven't remembered all if it _yet_! I get bits and pieces here and there. I don't care how I look, I eat fine enough and I get sleep when I need it. I don't understand why you can't see that I'm trying to help Quinn!"

By now it was a full blown shouting match; both girls had somehow gotten within a few feet of each other.

"Help Quinn? You're killing yourself by doing what you're doing and the worst part is you can't even _see_ it. You know just as well as I do that the chances of Quinn waking up now is so fucking small. It's been almost _five_ days Rachel. Five!" the taller blonde lifted her hand and wiggled her fingers for extra emphasis.

"—Don't you start with that! I'm fucking sorry if I'm the only one left that has any kind of hope that she'll wake up. All of you act as if she's dead! She's not, she's still breathing right there…" Rachel pointed to the cot behind her.

"Of course we haven't given up on her. We're scared for _you_!" Brittany stepped forward pleadingly, "You're destroying yourself by taking care of her like this. It's not helping. _If_ she even wakes…"

Rachel's eyes narrowed murderously.

"—_When_ Quinn wakes up what do you think she'll say when she takes one good look at you? Huh?" Brittany yelled desperately.

Rachel was rendered silent.

"It doesn't matter…" Rachel whispered.

"Yes you do! You matter! To me, to Santana, even to the fucking _cat_. And I can guarantee you that to Quinn, you matter the most!" Brittany took a deep breath to calm down. The smaller woman in front of her dropped her shoulders in defeat. She felt bad for her outburst, but not enough to apologize. It needed to be said and it was finally time for someone to step up.

Brittany clenched her jaw and stepped forward. She placed her hand lightly on her friend's shoulder, "Look, I'm sorry if I hurt your feelings but it needed to be said. Honestly, that woman cares for you a whole lot and I know it's going to bother her when she finds out what you've done to yourself."

Rachel shuddered and leaned into her friends comforting warmth, "I'm just her job, her burden. She's just trying to keep me alive."

Brittany pulled Rachel into her side and rested her cheek on the side of the smaller woman's head, "I don't know. I think she cares a lot more than that. Still, I think it best if you tried to get healthier before she wakes up, don't you think?"

Blue eyes stared warmly down at Rachel.

Rachel nodded with a bashful smile. She sniffled and wiped a tear from the corner of her eye, "Yeah, I think so too…"

Santana watched from a far. She had almost intervened, but female human behavior confused her. First they were at each other's throats, and now they were comforting each other. Once she was content that no punches were going to be thrown she turned around to exit.

Surprisingly, the Seer was right behind her, staring at the unfolding scene as well, "Peculiar isn't it?"

Santana just sighed and nodded, "Yes, I just don't understand. It's been such a long time since I've been human."

The Seer grinned, a sparkle entering her aged eyes, "They're _women_. A confusing bunch we can be sometimes. Yet, at the same time...wonderful."

Santana quirked her eyebrow skeptically, "You know much about women?"

The Seer clucked, "I know _many_ things young one. I've had my fair share of…dealings…with them." The old woman laughed at the surprised look on the tan skinned woman's face and walked away chuckling to herself. _Yes, she's had plenty of experience with women._ One in particular, but that's another story.

**XXXXXXX**

Being dead was an unusual feeling. Quinn knew how things worked for her people. Once a Guardian died their soul could never be put back in the Cycle, like humans. Once out, one cannot be put back in. So, it comes to a surprise that death would still cause her to _feel_ things.

A long time ago the blonde took a dip into the Antarctic Ocean on Earth. Santana had dared her. There was no way she'd let her friend best her; they were such a competitive pair during their training years. The freezing temperatures bothered her little, but the pressure in her ears and the muffled silence still persisted.

If she could describe this feeling…that's what it would be: silent, dull, muffled. She used to wonder what death would be like. Since she has no hope for being reincarnated, she thought she'd cease to exist.

That it would be empty. Technically, she shouldn't even be able to think, but here she was. Thinking.

That's what bothers her.

She doesn't know how long she's been in this state. There's nothing to tell time or show any change of anything. It's all a constant dull ache. It's frustrating and the fact that she can even feel _frustrated_ shows the warrior that she most likely wasn't dead. Or at least she hopes so.

She has things to do, even though for the life of her she can't remember what they were. She can't really remember much of anything, but that all comes second to the one thing she knows for sure: she's not dead.

So, where was she?

It could have been minutes, days or even years…Quinn doesn't know, but she started to feel strange. It wasn't the normal annoyance, or even the frustration. It was hot.

She was feeling hot. Now, how strange was that?

It wasn't a temperature change. It was an emotion that was so pure, it was blindingly hot. Quinn could feel it in her skin, in her bones, in her soul. Slowly it built up, but finally it exploded inside her and she was filled with white, hot, _rage._

The explosion of anger brought Quinn to her knees. She winced and clutched her head, praying it would end.

"_You think wiping her down is doing any good? Well, let me tell you something…it's not!_" The words tumbled out of nowhere taking the blonde by surprise.

"_You're killing yourself…. It's been almost five days Rachel. Five."_

Quinn couldn't recognize the voice, but the words spurred her fury further. It burned her. An anguished cry escaped past her lips.

"_All of you act as if she's dead! She's not, she's still breathing right there."_

She knew that voice. Quinn threw her pain filled eyes open as those words echoed in her mind. That voice soothed the pain like a cool balm to her soul. She needed that voice, without it…it hurt too much. All she had to do was figure out a way to get it back.

Quinn needed to get out of here. To claw her way out, that voice was not where she was and it was wrong. Everything was wrong the way it was now. She had to fix it. Quinn threw her head back and screamed letting all the frustration, anger and _feelings_ she had been drenched in for who knows how long, out into the open. It was like a pulse of electricity pounded its way into every nerve of her body. Higher and higher the intensity increased until the point where she thought she couldn't take it anymore.

Then it all stopped.

"…I think she cares a lot more than that. Still, I think it best if you tried to get healthier before she wakes up, don't you think?"

This was odd. The words echoed, but it didn't feel all muffled like before. There was no pressure; only clearness. She doesn't even know if that made any type of sense.

"Yeah, I think so too…"

It was that same voice, not as loud as before but she recognized it. She was so close to it, all she needed was a little more.

Hazel eyes, excruciatingly slowly, slid themselves open.

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><p><strong>Thoughts? Opinions on characters? on the plot? Tell me it all. In a "review". Lovely things those are.<strong>


	17. Chapter 17

**Thank you to everyone who left a gorgeous review for me, it really motivates me.**

**Here's the next chapter, I hope you all enjoy! :) By the way, I don't have a beta so all mistakes are on me. I'm sorry if I miss some things; I try.**

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><p>Hazel eyes blinked a few times to try and adjust to the low lighting of the cavern. Confused eyes wandered around but the only thing in her line of vision was black rock. She tried to move her head in the direction of the only light source in the room but winced when pain traveled down her spine like lightning. Still, she could tell it was a fire from the scent of the wood burning.<p>

She looked down and noticed that her armor had all been removed and placed right beside the cot she lay on. She was dressed only in her golden tunic, while being tucked under a thick wool blanket. Slowly but surely she got her fingers to cooperate enough that they would twitch. Quinn noticed that her arms and hands were scrubbed clean; the scent of soap lingered faintly in the air. _How long have I been asleep?_ Puzzled, Quinn worked her fingers again. Her muscles were all stiff from disuse; it was almost painful but she needed to regain control of her body.

After a moment or two her limb started moving. Next she worked on her neck. With a clenched jaw, she turned her head side to side until she could get her full motion back. Finally, she turned her head towards the fire and could barely make out two forms. The blonde squinted to try and see past the flames but it was useless. The light was too bright for her super sensitive vision at the moment. After so many years of being a soldier, Quinn had learned to trust her instincts and they were telling her that she wasn't in any immediate danger.

Still, the warrior clenched her jaw and got to work on getting her legs working. She started at her feet and worked up both limbs. This time it only took a few minutes, but sweat was already dripping down her forehead from the exertion. Her sharp hearing picked up movement from the other two people in the room. Her head turned quickly.

**XXXXXXX**

Brittany smiled down at the brunette still in her arms, "Everything will work out, ok?"

Rachel smiled and nodded. She sniffled and wiped away the last remaining tears off her face.

"I don't want it to seem like I'm bailing on you, but I kinda sorta of have to apologize to Santana," the tall blonde winced, "…I took my frustration out on her and I shouldn't have. She's trying to teach me and I bit her head off. So, I'm going to go find her, will you be ok?" Brittany ducked her head down to meet the smaller woman's eyes.

"Yeah…yeah I'll be ok," Rachel nodded quickly. She had to get back to Quinn, and maybe find some food after that. Now that Brittany had pointed out the large purple elephant in the room, she couldn't control the growling her stomach was currently doing.

Brittany grinned and hugged Rachel quickly before turning around and heading out the main entrance in the direction she knew the dark woman had left earlier.

Rachel watched her friend leave sadly. She couldn't help but feel that Santana was going to be a very important figure in her best friend's life…and she would be left behind. The brunette knows it's a trivial thing to think about, especially in the situation she's found herself in, but old insecurities have a way of butting their heads in at horrible times. Just one more thing for her to worry about. Rachel sighed and looked down; kicking a loose rock. She would need to have a talk with the blonde about Santana soon, but right now she's got to focus on tending to Quinn.

She turned and walked a few feet before lifting her head towards her patient. Rachel froze when stormy hazel eyes met hers; her stomach dropped.

"Quinn…" she whispered disbelievingly.

**XXXXXXX**

Quinn's vision cleared the longer she stared at the two women across the way. Sharp eyes looked at the blonde; _Brittany_. She knew that girl, she was a friend. Certain memories were still a little fuzzy to the warrior. Her graze traveled to the petite woman next to her. Her features softened unconsciously and a smile threatened the corner of her lips.

_Rachel Berry_.

She could never forget that face. Images raced through Quinn's mind clearing up all the missing and cloudy memories that plagued her. The blonde's eyes widened and she took in a shuddered breath. She remembered fighting the Shriekers and falling out of the night sky. She remembered talking to Sonya, and she remembered Rachel coming to save her. The girl must have done something correctly because at that moment she had been completely sure she was dying. The blonde never intended to have to deal with the consequences of her last words toward the brunette. Of course she would never refute that fact; Rachel_ is_ a beautiful woman.

Even without her extra sensitive hearing Quinn could have heard her name uttered reverently a mile away.

Hazel eyes locked with dark and in an instant Quinn's face relaxed. She softened her gaze and smiled slightly.

Rachel thought she didn't have any tears left after her talk with Brittany but she was wrong, so wrong. With a teary smile, the brunette sprinted the remaining distance between the two and crashed into the warrior's body. The relief that entered the petite woman's body was palpable.

Quinn held back a painful groan when Rachel slammed into her. She hugged the distraught woman for a minute before pushing her back.

"—I'm so sorry…I didn't realize…" Rachel backed up ashamed about her forward behavior.

"I…I…." the blonde croaked out. She coughed trying to clear her throat but her tongue felt like sandpaper.

Rachel quickly caught onto the problem and ran to collect a cup of water. She returned a moment later and offered the warrior the cup. Quinn groaned and tried to sit up, almost collapsing, but Rachel reacted quickly enough and helped the rest of the way up. Quinn took the offered cup and drank greedily to the last drop.

The cold water cooled her sore throat and it felt wonderful.

Quinn set the cup down and looked toward Rachel. Said girl had been staring at her the entire time, but at least she wasn't crying anymore.

"I uhh…how long have I been out?"

Rachel tilted her head as she stared at the blonde, "…almost five days." She kept being attacked by flashes of what happened when she was in Quinn's mind.

"That long?" Quinn frowned; she hadn't thought it was that long. Although a part of her knows she should be thankful that it wasn't any longer than that, "…and Santana? Where is everyone? Where are we?"

"Oh! Do you want me to get them? I can go try and find them, Brittany can't be too far away…" she got up from her kneeling position, intending to go share the good news.

"NO! I mean….no….just wait?" Quinn pleaded. As much as she wanted to make sure the others were ok, she didn't want them to see her like this; weak. She can't even sit up without Rachel's help and she's supposed to be the strong one here, the leader. All she needed was a few more minutes.

Rachel paused, a bit shocked at the outburst, "Yeah…whatever you want. How…how can I help?" she was at a loss. She'd spent so much time with Quinn the past few days, but she hadn't thought about how awkward this might inevitably be.

Quinn looked over at her charge, "…help me stand up? Everything is kind of…stiff. I just need to work everything out…"

Silently, Rachel pulled Quinn up onto her feet. She stayed close to the warrior in case she fell over, but made sure to stay out of the way so she could stretch out her wings if she wanted. Quinn winced and struggled pulling her body into an upright position. Even with Rachel's aid, the movements still hurt. She closed her eyes and concentrated on spreading out her large wings. It felt like knives were being stabbed into her spine. A painful cry escaped her lips. She could only guess her wings were the worst since they hadn't moved at all since she blacked out.

Rachel rushed forward to help, "Oh god, are you ok?"

"—stop. Don't…just let me…" pain filled eyes pleaded. Rachel reluctantly nodded and took a step back once more. As much as she wanted to help, she understood that this was something Quinn had to do on her own. Her body must feel alien to her right now. She's got to feel as normal as she possibly can.

Quinn tried to convey how thankful she was to not have the other woman push her through her eyes. She broke eye contact and closed them once again, she needed to concentrate. Already sweat was forming at her hair line, absentmindedly she thought she'd need a haircut. Her scalp was really hot. The excess moisture was quickly threatening to spill over. Her wings fluttered and flapped, sending loose dirt flying in all directions.

Rachel brought her arm up to protect her eyes. The wind picked up slightly as Quinn began to flap her wings harder and harder. After a few minutes the wind stopped and Rachel brought down her arm. She couldn't fight the smile from gracing her face from the sight that greeted her. _This_ was the Quinn she remembered; a confident, powerful warrior. Even without her full armor, she still looked intimidating and _magnificent._

Quinn stood there proudly, her wings outstretched to their full extension, power just radiating off her figure. Rachel could practically feel the electricity in the air, the hair on her arm jumping to attention at the sight. Quinn pulled her wings close with a satisfied little grin on her face. She felt tons better.

"That was…..just wow…" Rachel whispered in awe.

"Thanks…" Quinn muttered rubbing the back of her neck nervously, "…so now that I can actually move, where are we? A cave? What happened with the Shriekers?"

"That's such a long story…." Rachel took a deep breath getting ready for this very long explanation.

XXXXXXX

Quinn laced up the straps on the side of the bodice of her breast plate and tugged on them to make sure they were secure. Then, she picked up her fallen sword hilt and sent a piercing pulse of energy, reforming the blade and slid it into its sheath on her back. Next, she focused on her shin guards and bracers. The feeling of her beloved armor pieces warmed Quinn to the bone; it felt as if she was _finally_ back to normal. Despite minor repairs, the blonde had kept the same pieces of armor for centuries.

Rachel's story of what happened was unbelievable. The Commander part of her mind was highly disappointed in her seconds' rash decision to teleport when there was even a slight chance of failure. If it hadn't been for the Seer's interference they could have all died quite easily. Quinn had never personally met the Seer, but she had heard of her power. She was incredibly interested in finally meeting the legendary woman. However, she understood that there was little room for an alternative choice. Yet, as the dark skinned woman's friend, she was happy she managed to keep them all alive. Also, she couldn't overlook the fact that Santana had successfully killed two Shriekers without help.

Quinn narrowed her eyes and stepped around examining the cavern that had been her sanctuary for the past week. Rachel had left to gather the rest of the group and let them know she was awake. It gave her time to look presentable but she had underestimated how long it would take her to strap everything together. So, now she had time to just wander around while waiting for the others. She stepped into the middle of the large cavern and rested her hands on her hips. The room was simple; as she suspected there was a large fire pit in the middle, an old wooden table and chairs and she could faintly hear water trickling somewhere in the back. Absentmindedly, Quinn ran her fingers though her long hair. She couldn't stop the frown from her face at how many tangles met her fingers, but at the moment that couldn't be helped; that haircut starting looking better and better.

Santana literally crashed into the room; her wings clipped the side of wall sending her stumbling forward a few steps. Blushing, she looked up and wasn't surprised to see Quinn staring at her with a wry grin and a raised eyebrow. She stopped only feet from her Commander and friend.

"Commander, it's….it's great to see you up and about," the tan woman spoke evenly, trying to be respectful.

Quinn chuckled, "It's very nice to rejoin the living. I believe my decision to make you my second was a very smart choice, if the events of the past few days are anything to go by. Good job," she smiled at her oldest friend in gratitude.

Santana smiled brightly, "I got your back. Always Quinn,"

Quinn tilted her head in acknowledgement. Santana had always been there for her, whether it be through duty or by their friendship. She had no doubt that wouldn't change in the future.

Santana stepped to the side and let Brittany through. The taller blonde had no reservations whatsoever and gave the warrior a strong hug, "Oh my….I'm so happy you're better. We didn't know if you'd wake up and we were so worried," Brittany dropped her voice to a whisper, "…all except Rachel. She didn't doubt you at all."

Quinn froze in confusion at the rushed whisper, but before she had a chance to reply the other woman had pulled away with a bright smile. Brittany stepped to the side next to Santana to let the Seer through.

Rachel watched the reunions from the side. Her memories of the events were slowly returning and she knows Quinn had said something about a 'Sonya'. Much like when she had spoken to her doppelganger, Quinn must have been speaking to someone named Sonya. Now, all she had to do was figure out who Sonya was. She figured she'd have to go straight to the source for that piece of information. Hazel eyes caught hers for a split second before returning to the Seer.

The Seer stepped up towards the blonde, her expression pleasant. "It is a blessing to finally have you with us again. Your friends were extremely worried, but it would seem you've proven to be a strong fighter."

Quinn ducked her head in respect, "Coming from you Seer…that is a mighty compliment."

The old woman scoffed, "Oh hush you, none of that. I'm merely a friend helping out those in need. You seem to be in good health, no doubt your healing abilities have a little something to do with that."

"It took a little while, but yes…I do believe I'm in perfect health. Thank you for helping us all. I don't know if I can ever repay that debt. You saved us from teleporting into danger, and you helped me while I was unconscious. Thank you," Quinn placed her fist over her heart and bowed slightly at the waist. Santana quickly copied her Commanders actions.

A white eyebrow accompanied a toothy grin, "So much protocol with you both. You do know you aren't speaking to a Council member. Formalities are not needed; not with me. However, I accept your gratitude. I only did what I believed was the right thing do…at the right moment in time. Besides, I think a certain someone deserves your thanks as well," she motioned over to Rachel.

Twin heads lifted and looked toward Rachel. The small woman glanced away from the intense scrutiny.

Quinn straightened up, "I do believe you're right. Still, thank you for giving us sanctuary. We should probably be leaving soon; otherwise your home might be put in danger."

"Nonsense. You may stay as long as you wish, and I can assure you," the Seer paused as a wicked gleam entered her white eyes, "…I can fully take care of my home. I'm fully capable and have many surprises in me yet."

Quinn couldn't help the grin, "I do not doubt you for a second, wise woman."

"What do we do now though Quinn?" Brittany spoke up.

Quinn turned and looked at the blonde, "I don't know. We can stay here a little bit longer, but we'll need to formulate a plan. The Void won't stop and I think we're going to need more Guardians on this. The Shriekers…I'd only heard of them in Legend of Old. Imagine my surprise at seeing two headed straight for us."

"Enough of this tiring subject. Let us all enjoy the fact that the Commander here is in one piece and is in good health. Come, let us dine together and enjoy one another's company," the old crone said as she turned without a second glance, assuming the group would follow her to the long dining table nestled in the back.

Quinn, Rachel, Santana and Brittany exchanged looks before shrugging and following the crazy old woman. Who could say no to food?

Quinn let Santana and Brittany get ahead of her. She stayed back and grabbed Rachel's arm lightly, pulling her to a stop.

"Wait a moment?" Quinn asked softly.

Rachel stopped and turned toward the warrior completely confused. They waited a minute while their friends walked away so they could talk relatively alone.

"Yes?" Rachel prompted when it seemed Quinn wasn't going to initiate.

"Listen…I just wanted to thank you. The Seer was right, you helped me the most. Even though I'm still confused over how you did what you did…you saved my life. I'll always be indebted to you," hazel eyes softened at the admission.

Rachel's throat clenched. Never had the blonde looked at her in such a way and it took her breath away. She truly was a beauty.

Quinn ducked her head lower to meet Rachel's wandering eyes. She almost wanted to ask her if she was ok, but she bit her tongue. This was already out of character enough, but her honor demanded that she thank the girl.

"I…umm…it was nothing. I'm happy you're alive, I was so scared..." she trailed off with a whisper. Quickly she snapped back to reality and tried to salvage the conversation from total awkwardness, "Let's just consider ourselves even? You've saved me so many times by now, I just tried to return the favor."

As the words left her mouth they left a bitter taste. It wasn't a lie, but the brunette couldn't help but feel like that they were; at least partially. Rachel wasn't stupid; she'd always prided herself in knowing how her mind worked. Growing up with few friends gave her plenty of time to figure out how she ticked. She didn't know how Quinn felt, but she knew she cared _a lot_ for the warrior, if the amount of worry she had felt were any indication. Of course it could all be a result of a serious case of hero-worship.

Quinn dropped her brow, "You have no idea of the fate you saved me from. One day I hope to tell you, but just know I don't count my debt repaid. You have my gratitude, and if you didn't already have my services…I'd give you my sword," she vowed.

Quinn knew what she was saying, and only the Seer and Santana would understand the gravity of the situation, but that mattered little when in Quinn's eyes…she owed Rachel _everything._ Rachel saved her from the true death, and even though the tiny brunette doesn't know the magnitude of her words…Quinn knew. That would have to be enough for now.

Rachel didn't know what to say. A simple "thank you" seemed so anticlimactic, but she had no idea how to respond to that, "Thank you…."

Hazel eyes closed briefly in understanding; she knew the brunette would be oblivious. "Let us go eat, you look like you need a good meal just as much as I do…"

Rachel coughed to cover up her embarrassment, "Right, yes…lets. I'm not sure I want to know what's on the menu tonight though."

Quinn chuckled, "Think of it as an adventure. It won't kill you, trust me," she looked over at Rachel.

Rachel rolled her eyes, "I think my life is plenty full of adventures at the moment, but I'll have to take your word for it. You wouldn't let anything happen to me anyways."

"Never," came the quick response.

Rachel whipped her head around to see Quinn's face. Her tone had been odd, but the blonde was already facing forward getting ready to rejoin their companions.

"Hey, Quinn…" she quickly called out.

The taller woman halted her movements.

"Do you remember everything that happened? While you were out?"

Hazel eyes looked over her shoulder curiously for a moment, "…Yes, don't you?"

Rachel just shook her head, "Not all of it. Not yet."

"I'm sure it will come back with time. Nothing to worry about," Quinn's sultry voice spoke out softly before said blonde walked away without another word.

Quinn truly hoped the brunette wouldn't remember her last comments in the dream world. Not yet, not until she figured everything out. Sonya's actions had her thinking and she'd need to meditate on it later. Nonetheless, her last words hung like a mantra in her mind; mocking her inability to confront their consequences.

_Beautiful_

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><p><strong>Hope you all liked it! Review please, it will only take a moment.<strong>_  
><em>


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